Originally scheduled to be staged back-to-back with the 5th UN Environment Assembly, OEWG-12 is now postponed until further notice. The meeting report of the online segment is now available.

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The webinars build on the recent International E-Waste Day, and offer an introduction for those interested in enrolling in the popular Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on E-waste.

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The Theme for the next meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, and the associated High-Level Segment, from 19 to 31 July 2021, is “Global Agreements for a Healthy Planet; Sound Management of Chemicals & Waste”.

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Joint press release from the BRS and Minamata convention secretariats on the occasion of the UN Summit on Biodiversity.

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Efforts towards building a circular economy might be compromised by chemical additives in certain plastics, a study by the Stockholm Convention’s Regional Centre for the Mediterranean, IPEN, UNEP and the BRS Secretariat finds.

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The Second Round of funding of the Basel Convention’s Small Grants Programme, generously funded by the Norwegian NORAD agency, is now open.

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The English advance version of the report of the twelfth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (online segment), held on 1-3 September 2020, is now available.

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Representatives from the Barcelona Convention, CITES, Climate Change Convention, Convention on Biological Diversity, Minamata Convention, Montreal Protocol, and the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, join the Basel Convention’s Implementation and Compliance Committee online to discuss ways to better prevent and combat illegal traffic.

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Back to school, back to university, back to the office? Snap the plastic waste you encounter and you could win the Plastic Waste Partnership’s photo contest, deadline 30 September.

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Tuvalu has deposited its instrument of accession with the UN, entering into force on 19 November 2020.

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The OEWG-12 online segment takes place on 1 and 3 September 2020. For more details, including working documents in the 6 UN languages, see the tentative schedule of work.

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A series of information sessions will introduce participants to the Plastic Waste Amendments adopted at the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention that will become effective on 1 January 2021.

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The Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention met online, 25-26 June 2020, to discuss preparations for COP-15 in 2021. The report of that meeting is now available online.

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The new text includes the plastic waste amendments made at the 2019 Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP-14).

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The new call for proposals will be presented and discussed during these Basel Convention online meetings.

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The information sessions will introduce participants to the work of the Plastic Waste Partnership and the call for proposals for pilot projects that was issued under the Partnership on 24 July.

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Click here for COVID-19 medical waste news and guidance, along with other developments related to the sound management of chemicals and waste.

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Preparations for the 2021 Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP-15) are discussed by the Basel Convention’s COP Bureau, during their online meeting on 25-26 June 2020.

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The 14th meeting of the Basel Convention’s Implementation and Compliance Committee, online from 29 June to 3 July, will initiate its work with the consideration of 8 specific submissions from Parties.

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Following feedback from regions, the OEWG meeting will not be held on 22 to 25 June 2020. Further consultations to take place on options for rescheduling.

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Read the Earth Negotiations Bulletin’s review “State of Global Environmental Governance 2019” published recently by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

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Questionnaires have been distributed to Parties in order to gauge technical assistance needs and gather offers of technology transfer, to assist implementation of the three conventions.

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Adopted by Parties one year ago in May 2019, the Amendments become effective on 1 January 2021. Learn all you need to know by consulting the Secretariat’s FAQ, newly online.

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The UNEP/TED-ed initiative has attracted millions of children worldwide since launching in April. Join the Plastics Quest, live from Monday 18 May, brought into your home by the BRS Secretariat and partners.

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BRS Executive Secretary joins UNEP, WHO, UNEP and others in a webinar on 19 May to discuss necessary responses to increased medical waste in light of the COVID-19 emergency.

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Download the Basel Convention’s guidance document on how to manage medical waste in the most sustainable manner.

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Working documents in all 6 official UN languages, an overview of working modalities, and useful FAQs are all online in advance of OEQG-12, which takes place online from 22 to 25 June 2020.

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The BRS Secretariat is pleased to announce, thanks to generous funding from Norway, the opening of the new Small Grant Programme on Plastic Waste, open to applications from Basel and Stockholm Convention regional centres until 15 July 2020.

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The Basel Convention’s COP-15, the Rotterdam Convention’s COP-10 and the Stockholm Convention’s COP-10 will be held back-to-back in Geneva, Switzerland, from 19 to 30 July 2021.

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Join us in this Webinar to learn more about how to use international standards to foster a circular economy in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector from the perspective of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

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The UN Massive Open Online Course on E-waste is open to all: join the webinar to find out if its for you.

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The ground-breaking decision by Parties to clarify which types of plastic waste are included in the Convention’s legally-binding regulatory system entered into force on 24 March 2020.

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The new Technical Series from the BRS Secretariat opens with four key publications on national reporting, national reporting best practices, legal frameworks, and illegal traffic.

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Read the Secretariat’s Press Release on the need to prioritise waste management during the COVID-19 outbreak.

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The first meeting of the Basel Convention’s new Plastic Waste Partnership concluded successfully in Seychelles, 5 March 2020. Read the outcomes summarised in the BRS Press Release.

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Photographs are invited from professionals, amateurs and children, and will be judged by a panel including a National Geographic photographer. Deadline for submission: 30 September 2020.

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The 12th meeting of the Basel Convention’s Open-Ended Working Group will take place in Geneva, Switzerland from 22 to 25 June 2020, back-to-back with the 14th meeting of the Implementation and Compliance Committee and the meeting of the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention.

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BRS information platforms expanded to include new portal sharing publications, events and contacts from the network of regional centres, starting with the Basel and Stockholm Regional Centre for Francophone Africa in Dakar, Senegal, as the first new information source and publisher.

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BRS Executive Secretary meets Director General, Kunio Mikuriya, after giving keynote address at the WCO Enforcement Committee meeting, in Brussels.

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The 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council addresses children’s rights to a healthy environment, as UN report shows that 25% of infant deaths are from preventable, environmental hazards.

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See Inger Andersen (UNEP), Rolph Payet (BRS), Malcom Johnson (ITU) and Maria Neira (WHO) talk about the newly-launched E-waste Massive Open Online Course.

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The BRS Secretariat and partners’ Massive Open Online Course on electronic, or e-waste, is a unique opportunity to learn how you can become part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.

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A first webinar in a series of five opens the updated and expanded Massive Open Online Course - or MOOC – on E-waste.

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Less than a year after its establishment, the new Plastic Waste Partnership of the Basel Convention meets for the first time at Beau Vallon, the Seychelles, from 2 to 5 March 2020.

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The report of the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties is now available online in the six UN languages.

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International Mountains Day 2019 marked by a special event in Geneva on 11 December, coinciding with the launch of a new project to help tackle plastic pollution, funded by Norway. Read the BRS Press Release.

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The deadline for 2018 national reports is approaching. Parties can access the questionnaire for national reporting and submit it through the electronic reporting system.

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High-level event on 25 November brings together key global stakeholders including the World Trade Organisation (WTO), World Bank, World Economic Forum (WEF), and China.

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