Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention

Online, 26 to 30 July 2021 (online segment) and Geneva, Switzerland, from 6 to 17 June 2022 (face-to-face segment)

Venue: Online and in Geneva, Switzerland at the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG)

Highlights: The fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention was held back-to-back with the tenth meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention and to the Stockholm Convention in two segments: an online segment that took place from 26 to 30 July 2021 to adopt a set of prioritized and time sensitive decisions aimed at continuing the work of the Convention in 2022, and a face-to-face segment held from 6 to 17 June 2022 in Geneva. The theme of the meetings was "Global Agreements for a Healthy Planet: Sound management of chemicals and waste". The online and face-to-face segments were attended by over 160 Parties to the conventions and 1,500 participants.

In addition, the high-level segment of the meetings took place on Wednesday, 1 June 2022, in Stockholm, Sweden. For further information, please see the high-level segment webpage.

Summary of outcomes of the online segment of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention: During the online segment, the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention adopted an interim programme of work and budget of the Convention for 2022, agreed to resume the meeting during a face-to-face segment in Geneva, from 6 to 17 June 2022, and agreed to continue intersessional work under the Convention in 2022, including work of the subsidiary bodies and relevant partnerships, until further consideration at the face-to-face segments of the meetings of the conferences of the Parties in 2022.

Summary of outcomes of the face-to-face segment of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention: At its face-to-face segment, the meeting took up the items of the agenda not considered or concluded during the online segment. Among other things, the Conference of the Parties adopted amendments to Annexes II, VII and IX of the Convention, upon the proposal by Ghana and Switzerland, subjecting all transboundary movements of electronic wastes, whether hazardous or not, to the Convention’s prior informed consent procedure. The Conference of the Parties also adopted technical guidelines on mercury wastes, on Persistent Organic Pollutants wastes, on environmentally sound incineration of hazardous and other wastes as covered by disposal operations D10 and R1, on specially engineered landfill (D5), as well as two guidance documents prepared by the Implementation and Compliance Committee - one on transit transboundary movements and the other on insurance, bond and guarantee. The Parties furthermore decided to update the technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of waste lead-acid batteries, to initiate the development of technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of other waste batteries, to improve the strategic framework of the Convention and to initiate a new track of work to improve the function of the prior informed consent procedure.

On joint issues, the three conferences of the Parties adopted the budgets and programmes of work for 2022-2023, strengthened their mandate for international cooperation with other organizations in support of the recently adopted resolutions by the United Nations Environment Assembly to forge a new international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution, and to establish a science policy panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and prevent pollution.

Financial support for the participation of developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition in the 2021-2022 meetings of the conferences of the Parties was provided thanks to the generous financial support provided by the Governments of China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

Working languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Meeting documents

  • Report
  • Decisions
  • Working documents
  • Information documents