History

CLI meetings (2009-2011)

Three meetings were organised as part of the informal CLI process led by Indonesia and Switzerland during which participants agreed to develop recommendations for consideration by parties at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) for a way forward to ensure that the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, especially to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, constitute an environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes, as required by the Basel Convention.

Further information on the outcome of the CLI process can be accessed here.

Outcome of COP 10

The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties adopted decision BC-10/3 on the Indonesian-Swiss country-led initiative to improve the effectiveness of the Basel Convention.

This decision was composed of seven sections addressing: 

  1. Entry into force of the Ban Amendment;

    Decision BC-10/3: Section A (extract) 

    Section A of decision BC-10/3 invited Parties to continue to take concrete actions to encourage and assist Parties to ratify the Ban Amendment, including:

      1. Specific actions, such as the Nordic Initiative, to assist Parties; 
      2. Regional meetings; 
      3. Country-specific studies.

    Parties also agreed an interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 of the Basel Convention on amendments to the Convention.

  2. Developing guidelines for environmentally sound management;

    Decision BC-10/3: Section B (extract)

    Development of a framework for the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and other wastes

    Decision BC-10/3 decided to complete the development of a framework for the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and other wastes, including consideration of ways in which the framework and its elements might be linked to the issue of transboundary movement of hazardous and other wastes.

    A technical expert group is mandated to undertake the work outlined above, taking into account the elements listed in the annex to the decision.

    Existing activities undertaken by Parties and other stakeholders to ensure ESM of hazardous and other wastes

    By a general communication, the Secretariat has requested information on existing activities undertaken by Parties and other stakeholders to ensure the environmentally sound management of hazardous and other wastes.

    Parties and other stakeholders are invited to transmit their information to the Secretariat (susan.wingfield@unep.org) by 16 March 2012.

  4. Further strengthening the Basel Convention Regional and Coordinating Centres;

    Decision BC-10/3: Section D (extract)

Recent Communications and Requests for Information: 

  1. Request for information from Parties and other Stakeholders on environmentally sound management; 
  2. Questionnaire on providing further legal clarity:
    1. Download the questionnaire for Parties in English, French and Spanish
    2. Download the questionnaire for other stakeholders

 

BC-10/3: Indonesian-Swiss country-led initiative to improve the effectiveness of the Basel Convention

Further strengthening the Basel Convention regional and coordinating centres

The Conference of the Parties,

Recognizing that the Basel Convention regional and coordinating centres play an important role in training, technical assistance and awareness-raising and that this role should be strengthened,

Noting that many of the proposals included in the recommendations of the country-led initiative ultimately involve initiatives that are best taken at the regional and subregional levels and that the Basel Convention regional and coordinating centres are ideally placed to take them forward,

Hence identifying the need to expedite the ongoing review and strengthening of the operation of the centres, 

Requests parties to integrate the following activities into the plan for the development of the Basel Convention regional and coordinating centres for the implementation of the Basel Convention:

  1. Convene regional meetings to inform parties about and assist them in ratifying the Ban Amendment or national measures to prohibit imports;
  2. Disseminate guidance on environmentally sound management through their training, assistance and awareness-raising activities;
  3. Develop a programme and deploy activities to bring actors together, to provide training and to coordinate joint actions to combat illegal traffic, with the support of the Secretariat and other stakeholders as appropriate;
  4. Consult parties within their regions and identify the real needs of vulnerable countries and the difficulties that they face in relation to unwanted imports of hazardous wastes;
  5. Take action to secure political and public engagement with the work of the Convention;
  6. Seek further collaboration with other agencies, non-governmental organizations and the private sector;
  7. Seek out and mobilize relevant expertise in other relevant international and regional organizations.