Previous meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COPs)

 

Meeting Venue Date Summary
COP1 Piriapolis, Uruguay 3 - 4 December 1992 COP 1 requested industrialized countries to prohibit transboundary movements of hazardous wastes for disposal to developing countries. It also noted that transboundary movements of hazardous wastes destined for recovery and recycling take place in an environmentally sound manner. More
COP2 Geneva, Switzerland 21 - 25 March 1994 Parties agreed on an immediate ban on the export of hazardous wastes intended for final disposal from OECD to non-OECD countries. Parties also agreed to ban, by 31 December 1997 the export of wastes intended for recovery and recycling (Decision II/12). More
COP3 Geneva, Switzerland 18 - 22 September 1995 The Ban was adopted as an amendment to the Convention (Decision III/1). COP 3 further mandated a Technical Working Group to continue its work on the characterization of hazardous wastes and the development of lists of wastes that are hazardous (Desicion III/2). More
COP4 Kuching, Malaysia 23 - 27 February 1998 COP 4 adopted a number of decisions related to the Ban Amendment and issues related to Annex VII. COP 4 decided to incorporate List A, identifying wastes characterized as hazardous and List B, identifying non-hazardous wastes as Annex VIII and Annex IX to the Basel Convention, respectively. More
COP5 Basel, Switzerland 6 - 10 December 1999 COP 5 adopted the Basel Protocol on Liability and Compensation for Damage resulting from Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Delegates at COP 5 also agreed on an interim arrangement to cover emergency situations until the Protocol en­ters into force. COP 6 approved the Interim Guidelines for the Implementa­tion of decision V/32 on the Enlargement of the scope of the Technical Cooperation Trust Fund. The Basel Declaration on environmentally sound management setting the next decade's agenda was also adopted. More
COP6 Geneva, Switzerland 9 - 13 December 2002 COP 6 established a Committee for Administering the Mechanism for Promoting Implementation and Compliance to assist parties to comply with their obligations under the Convention and to facilitate, promote, monitor and aim to secure the implementation of, and compliance with, the obligations under the Convention. COP 6 also adopted the Strategic Plan for the implementation of the Basel Convention for the period 2002 to 2010, to assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition in implementing the provisions of the Convention. More
COP7 Geneva, Switzerland 25 - 29 October 2004 COP 7 adopted a Ministerial statement on partnerships for meeting the global waste challenge. Building partnerships for meeting the global waste challenge will contribute to the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. More
COP8 Nairobi, Kenya 27 November - 1 December 2006 Convened shortly after the ‘Probo Koala’ tragic incident, COP 8 called upon Parties to provide technical and financial assistance to support the implementation of the emergency plan developed by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire (decision VIII/1).  It also adopted Nairobi declaration on the environmentally sound management of electrical and electronic waste. More
COP9 Bali, Indonesia 23 - 27 June 2008 COP 9 adopted the Bali Declaration on Waste Management for Human Health and Livelihood, which affirms that waste, if not managed in a safe and environmentally sound manner, may have serious consequences for the environment, human health and sustainable livelihood. COP 9 also adopted a historical decision, IX/10 on enhancing cooperation and coordination among the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions. The fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention (decision RC-4/11) and the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Stockholm Convention (decision SC-4/34) adopted substantially identical decisions, which are together known as the “synergies decisions”. Since then the three conventions have joined forces to better address the challenge of environmentally sound management of hazardous chemicals and wastes. More
COP 10  Cartagena de Indias, Colombia 17 - 21 October 2011 Theme of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention was “Prevention, minimization and recovery of wastes”. More

 

exCOPs Bali, Indonesia 22-24 February 2010

Following the synergy decisions, the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions held historic, simultaneous extraordinary meetings. The meetings simultaneously adopted substantially identical decisions on: joint activities; joint managerial functions; joint services; synchronized budget cycles; joint audits and review arrangements between the conventions.