Geneva, Switzerland, from 27 to 29 November 2025 and 21 to 22 September 2026
Venue: Room Rhin, Aare and Rhone, International Environment House II, 7-9 chemin de Balexert, CH-1219 Châtelaine
Format: The first part of the second meeting of small intersessional working group on improving the functioning of the prior informed consent procedure convened face-to-face. Registered members or observers not in a position to participate in person in the meeting received, upon request to the Secretariat, an online viewer access allowing them to follow the meeting without the right to intervene. Viewers were not included in the list of participants to the meeting. The second part of the second meeting convened similarly face-to-face with the possibility to follow the meeting online without the right to intervene.
Highlights: The objective of the first part of the meeting was to further investigate the options for improving the functioning of the prior informed consent procedure, taking into account the Report on challenges in the implementation of the prior informed consent procedure and best practices, possible approaches and initiatives to improve its functioning, as well as options for possible ways forward and the comments received pursuant to paragraph 31 of the decision BC-17/2, for consideration by the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention at its fifteenth meeting and by the Conference of the Parties at its eighteenth meeting.
During the second part of its second meeting, the small intersessional working group resumed its work in line with the guidance provided by the Open-ended Working Group at its fifteenth meeting. Accordingly, the small intersessional working group prepared a revised report on further options for improving the functioning of the prior informed consent procedure, taking into account the discussions at the fifteenth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its eighteenth meeting.
The Secretariat gratefully acknowledges the European Union and the Government of Japan for their generous financial support to hold the meeting of the small intersessional working group on improving the functioning of the prior informed consent procedure.
Working language: English