Mandate
Since the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties and according to Decision V/32, developing countries and countries with economies in transition that are Party to the Basel Convention can request emergency assistance from the Secretariat of the Basel Convention in order;
- To estimate the magnitude of damage occurred or damage that may occur and the measures needed to prevent damage;
- To take appropriate emergency measures to prevent or mitigate the damage;
- To help find those Parties and other entities in a position to give the assistance needed.
The list used for determining which countries are developing countries and countries with economies in transition will be taken from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Frequency
In case of an incident occurring during a transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes covered by the Basel Convention.
Format
The Party requesting emergency assistance must fill out the standard form available in all six official United Nations languages, which can be accessed by clicking on the following links: in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Procedures and processes of the Secretariat
The Party wishing to request emergency assistance must send the form (please put “EMERGENCY” in the subject) to both:
In urgent emergency situations, the Party should contact the Joint Unit through the Duty Officer of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Tel +41 22 917 2010 (available 24/7)