Geneva, Switzerland, from 28 November to 1 December 2023 and from 3 to 6 September 2024
Venue: Room Rhin, Aare and Rhone, International Environment House II, 7-9 chemin de Balexert, CH-1219 Châtelaine
Format: The first part of the sixth meeting of the expert working group was 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 are not included in the list of participants to the meeting. The second part of the sixth meeting of the expert working group will convened in the same format.
Highlights: During the first part of its sixth meeting, the expert working group resumed its work on the review of Annexes I, III and IV to the Basel Convention. In line with decision BC-16/15, the expert working group prepared revised amendment proposals on Annex IV A, initiated consideration of revised amendment proposals on Annex IV B, and continued to develop draft recommendations on the review of Annexes I and III for consideration by the Open-ended Working Group at its fourteenth meeting (25-28 June 2024). The group agreed to invite comments from Parties and observers on the outcome of its work by 11 March 2024. The group also agreed to meet for the second part of its sixth meeting in September or October 2024.
During the second part of its sixth meeting, the expert working group will resume its work in line with the guidance provided by the Open-ended Working Group at its fourteenth meeting. Accordingly, the expert working group is expected to:
- continue its work on the review of Annex IV and to develop revised amendment proposals thereon, including short explanations as to why the proposals are being made, on the basis of the outcomes of the discussions at the fourteenth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (see the annex to document UNEP/CHW/OEWG.14/INF/27/Rev.1, transposed in the annex to document UNEP/CHW/RA_EWG.6/2/Rev.1) including the prioritization of the amendment proposals, for consideration and possible adoption by the Conference of the Parties at its seventeenth meeting;
- continue to develop draft recommendations on the review of Annexes I and III, taking into account the discussions at the fourteenth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group, for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its seventeenth meeting.
The Secretariat gratefully acknowledges the Governments of Norway, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and the European Union for their generous financial support to the work of the expert working group.
Working language: English