Prosecutors play a key role in ensuring that any criminal proceedings pertaining to alleged cases of illegal traffic are successfully brought forward and handled. Ultimately, proper prosecution will ensure that the rule of law is upheld, that justice is served and that communities and the environment are protected against the harmful consequences of improperly managed transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous and other wastes. With this in mind, the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention mandated the development of an instruction manual on the prosecution of illegal traffic in hazardous wastes and other wastes, a manual that was approved during its tenth meeting in October 2011. At that time, the Conference of the Parties also requested the Secretariat of the Basel Convention to organize training activities for prosecutors, based on the manual.
The workshop for Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia Countries on the Prosecution of Illegal Traffic of Hazardous Wastes and Other wastes under the Basel Convention, Bratislava, is the first of a series of two workshops that will be organized by the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions over the period 2012-2013, with the financial support from the European Union.