Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention

Geneva, Switzerland, from 1-12 May 2023

Venue: Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG), 17 rue de Varembé, Geneva, Switzerland

Summary of outcomes: The sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (BC COP-16) was held in Geneva from 1-12 May 2023 back-to-back with the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention (RC COP-11) and the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-11). The theme of the meetings was " Accelerating action: Targets for the sound management of chemicals and waste ".

BC COP-16 adopted 28 decisions, among which, eight are joint to two or three of the conventions, for instance on enhanced cooperation with other bodies, technical assistance, preventing and combating illegal traffic and trade and the clearing-house mechanism. Some of the main outcomes of the Conference include: the adoption of updated technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of plastic wastes, the adoption of updated technical guidelines on POPs wastes and e-wastes, and the initiation of work to improve the functioning of the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure and to develop a new strategic framework. These are just a few examples of the achievements contained in the decisions adopted by the Conference.

Thanks to voluntary contributions from the Governments of China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands, financial assistance was provided to support the participation of developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition to attend the meetings.

Working languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Meeting documents

  • Report
  • Decisions
  • Working documents
  • Information documents