Reports and Decisions

The Conference of the Parties

Recalling decisions BC-14/27, RC-9/15 and SC-9/25, on the dates and venue of the next meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants,

The Conference of the Parties

Taking note of the financial reports on the Basel Convention trust funds for 2020 and estimated expenditures for 2021 from the trust fund for the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (Basel Convention general trust fund),

Mindful that the recommendations in the report on the final evaluation of the strategic framework for the implementation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal for the period 2012–2021 that pertain to specific items on the agenda of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties are addressed in the relevant decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties at that meeting and reflected in the programme of work and budget for the Basel Convention for the biennium 2022–2023,

The Conference of the Parties,

Welcoming the entry into force of the amendment to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, set out in decision III/1, known as the “Ban Amendment”,

The Conference of the Parties

1. Adopts the practical manual for stakeholders to ensure that notifications of transboundary movements meet environmentally sound management requirements;

2. Invites Parties and others to undertake activities to use, promote and disseminate the toolkit on environmentally sound management;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes with appreciation the contributions made by the small intersessional working group to the tasks pertaining to the technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with persistent organic pollutants;

2. Adopts the following technical guidelines:

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes with appreciation the contributions made by the expert working group to the tasks pertaining to the technical guidelines on transboundary movements of electrical and electronic waste and used electrical and electronic equipment, in particular regarding the distinction between waste and non-waste under the Basel Convention;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes with appreciation the contributions made by the Governments of Argentina, Canada and Japan, as co-lead countries, and the small intersessional working group established pursuant to paragraph 6 of decision BC-13/6, to undertake the tasks pertaining to the technical guidelines on incineration on land (D10) and the technical guidelines on specially engineered landfill (D5);

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes with appreciation the contributions made by the Government of Japan, as lead country, and the small intersessional working group to the tasks pertaining to technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with mercury or mercury compounds;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes with appreciation the contributions made by the Governments of China, Japan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as co-lead countries, and the small intersessional working group established pursuant to paragraph 20 of decision BC-14/13 to the tasks pertaining to the technical guidelines for the identification and environmentally sound management of plastic wastes and for their disposal;

The Conference of the Parties

Having considered the invitation of the United Nations Environment Assembly, in its resolution 3/9, on eliminating exposure to lead paint and promoting environmentally sound management of waste lead-acid batteries, to consider revising the technical guidelines for the environmentally sound management of waste lead-acid batteries regarding the application of new technologies in different aspects of environmentally sound management systems,

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the report on the status of work of the World Customs Organization on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System related to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of:

(a) The updated electronic reporting system of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal;

(b) The practical guidance on the development of inventories of plastic waste, obsolete pesticides and pesticide-container waste, and waste batteries containing lithium; and revised practical guidance for the development of inventories of used lead-acid batteries and waste oils;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the report by the Secretariat on experiences, at the national and international levels, in developing and implementing electronic systems for exchanging information on or controlling the movements of goods and wastes, and lessons learned from such experiences, including on relevant standards and initiatives developed by international organizations which relate to the work under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, in particular, but not limited to, the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business, the World Customs Organization data model and the Automated System for Customs Data;

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Takes note of the background information related to a possible future assessment of the effectiveness of the measures taken under the Basel Convention to address plastic waste and to possible further activities that could be conducted under the Convention; of the information on certain plastic wastes referred to in entry Y48 in Annex II and entry B3011 in Annex IX to the Convention submitted by Parties and others in response to paragraph 35 of decision BC-14/13; and of the report by the United Nations Environment Programme on the implementation of the United Nations Environment Assembly resolutions on marine litter and microplastics;

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Takes note of the information provided by Parties and by one observer related to activities aimed at addressing issues related to waste containing nanomaterials;

2. Invites Parties and observers to make available to the Secretariat, by 31 December 2022, any new information related to activities aimed at addressing issues related to waste containing nanomaterials, including case studies about and best practices relating to the management of waste containing nanomaterials;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the note by the Secretariat on the work of the Committee Administering the Mechanism for Promoting Implementation and Compliance and welcomes the work undertaken by the Committee since the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

The Conference of the Parties,

Having considered the proposal by the Governments of Ghana and Switzerland to amend Annexes II, VIII and IX to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal,

1. Decides to amend Annex II to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal by adding the following entry:

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Welcomes the work undertaken by the expert working group on the review of Annexes I, III and IV and entries A1180 in Annex VIII and B1110 in Annex IX to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal;

The Conference of the Parties

Noting its decision BC-15/27 on synergies in preventing and combating illegal traffic and trade in hazardous chemicals and wastes,

1. Encourages the Secretariat to further develop its implementation and enforcement activities to support Parties;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the report on the needs of developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition for technical assistance and technology transfer as well as of the database summarizing the technical assistance needs;

2. Encourages all relevant technical assistance providers to consider the information available in that database;

The Conference of the Parties,

I Follow-up partnership to the Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment

1. Welcomes the activities undertaken by Basel Convention regional and coordinating centres and other members of the working group of the Follow-up Partnership to the Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment (hereinafter “the Partnership”) to implement its programme of work;

The Conference of the Parties

Adopts the work programme of the Open-ended Working Group for the biennium 2022–2023 as set out in the annex to the present decision.

The Conference of the Parties,

Recognizing that the sharing of services within a stable framework will enhance cooperation and coordination based on experience and proximity and can foster the effective implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions and the Minamata Convention without undermining the autonomy of the secretariats or the accountability of their executive heads,

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal at its fourteenth meeting related to plastic waste, including marine plastic litter and microplastics, , the report by the Secretariat on international cooperation and coordination for the period 1 January 2019–31 December 2021, the update provided by the secretariat of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management on the intersessional process considering the Strategic Approach and the sound management of chemicals and wastes beyond 2020, and the information on activities undertaken by the United Nations Environment Programme on programmatic matters pertaining to the Basel Convention, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes the progress made in the implementation of the joint clearing-house mechanism;

2. Takes note of the workplan for the implementation of the joint clearing-house mechanism for the biennium 20222023;

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Adopts the forms to enable Parties to the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions to voluntarily provide information about cases of trade occurring in contravention of those conventions;

2. Encourages Parties to provide information about cases of trade occurring in contravention of the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions using the forms mentioned in paragraph 1 of the present decision;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the information on progress in the action by Parties and others to promote the implementation of the road map for further engaging Parties and other stakeholders in informed dialogue for enhanced science-based action in the implementation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, as provided in the note by the Secretariat on “From science to action”;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Decides to accept with thanks the offer by the Government of Kenya to host the next meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2021 at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, and, accordingly, agrees to convene these meetings back to back, from 17 to 28 May 2021 in Nairobi, subject to the conclusion of a host country agreement between the host Government and the Secretariat;

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling decision BC-15/2 on the interim programme of work and budget of the Basel Convention for 2022 adopted during the online segment of its fifteenth meeting, held from 26 to 30 July 2021,

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes the work undertaken by the small intersessional working group on the strategic framework for the implementation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal for the period 2012-2021;

The Conference of the Parties,

Noting the information regarding the status of ratification of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal and of the amendment thereto set out in decision III/1, known as the “Ban Amendment”,

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes the work undertaken by the expert working group on environmentally sound management, and takes note of the report on the activities undertaken by the group;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes with appreciation the contributions made by the Government of Norway as lead country and by the small intersessional working group to the tasks pertaining to the technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with persistent organic pollutants;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes with appreciation the contributions made by the Government of China as lead country and by the expert working group to the tasks pertaining to the technical guidelines on transboundary movements of electrical and electronic waste and used electrical and electronic equipment, in particular regarding the distinction between waste and non-waste under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes with appreciation the contributions made by the Governments of Argentina and Canada, as co-lead countries, and the small intersessional working group established pursuant to paragraph 6 of decision BC-13/6 to the tasks pertaining to the technical guidelines on incineration on land (D10) and the technical guidelines on specially engineered landfill (D5);

The Conference of the Parties

Having considered the invitation of the United Nations Environment Assembly, in its resolution 3/9 on eliminating exposure to lead paint and promoting environmentally sound management of waste lead-acid batteries, to consider revising the technical guidelines for the environmentally sound management of waste lead-acid batteries regarding the application of new technologies in different aspects of environmentally sound management systems,

The Conference of the Parties

Having considered the invitation of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, in its decision MC-2/2 on mercury waste thresholds, to consider reviewing, as appropriate, the technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with mercury or mercury compounds to include additional guidance for certain mercury wastes,

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the report on the status of work of the World Customs Organization on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System related to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes the updated electronic reporting system of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal and encourages Parties to use it to transmit their national reports;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the responses provided by Parties and others pertaining to information on their experiences with electronic approaches to the notification and movement documents;

The Conference of the Parties,

Having considered the proposals by the Government of Norway to amend Annexes II, VIII and IX to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal,

1. Decides to amend Annex II to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal by adding the following entry:

The Conference of the Parties,

Noting with concern that high and rapidly increasing levels of marine plastic litter and microplastics represent a serious environmental problem on a global scale, negatively affecting marine biodiversity, ecosystems, fisheries, maritime transport, recreation and tourism, and local societies and economies, and that plastic litter and microplastics can also be found on land and in rivers, wetlands and lakes,

The Conference of the Parties,

Acknowledging the work undertaken by other organizations, in particular the International Labour Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and the World Health Organization, on nanotechnology, the safety of nanomaterials and waste containing nanomaterials,

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the note by the Secretariat on the work of the Committee Administering the Mechanism for Promoting Implementation and Compliance, and welcomes the work undertaken by the Committee since the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Welcomes the work undertaken by the expert working group on the review of Annexes I, III and IV and related aspects of Annex IX to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes the implementation and enforcement activities undertaken by the Secretariat, and encourages the Secretariat to further develop those activities;

2. Invites enforcement organizations and networks to continue to actively engage in preventing and combating illegal traffic in hazardous wastes and other wastes, and to continue their collaboration with the Secretariat on activities aimed at assisting Parties to prevent and combat illegal traffic;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the report on the implementation of the technical assistance plan for the period 2018–2021 in the biennium 2018–2019 and the work carried out on monitoring and evaluation;

The Conference of the Parties,

Follow-up partnership to the Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment

Recalling its decisions VI/32 on partnership with environmental non-governmental organizations and with the industry and business sectors, VII/3 on the Basel Convention Partnership Programme, VIII/2 on creating innovative solutions through the Basel Convention for the environmentally sound management of electrical and electronic wastes, VIII/5 on the Basel Convention Partnership Programme and 13/12 on the Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment,

The Conference of the Parties

Adopts the work programme of the Open ended Working Group for the biennium 2020–2021 set out in the annex to the present decision.

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes the ministerial declarations and the resolutions adopted by the United Nations Environment Assembly at its third and fourth sessions, and joins in the expression of deep concern that our planet is increasingly polluted and in the encouragement to Governments and all other stakeholders to contribute to the effective implementation of the plan “Towards a Pollution-Free Planet”;

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling that the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme performs secretariat functions for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions as well as for the Minamata Convention on Mercury,

The Conference of the Parties

1. Welcomes the progress made in the implementation of the joint clearing house mechanism;

2. Also welcomes the work of the Secretariat in preparing a draft workplan for the implementation of the joint clearing house mechanism for the biennium 2020–2021;

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling decisions BC-13/21, RC-8/14 and SC-8/24, on synergies in preventing and combating illegal traffic and trade in hazardous chemicals and wastes,

1. Takes note of the information provided by Parties about their experience with the establishment of coordinating mechanisms and lessons learned from such experience, and about cases of illegal trade in hazardous chemicals and wastes;

The Conference of the Parties

1. Takes note of the road map for further engaging Parties and other stakeholders in informed dialogue for enhanced science-based action in the implementation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants;

The Conference of the Parties,

Taking note of the United Nations Environment Programme November 2016 delegation of authority policy and framework for the management and administration of multilateral environmental agreement secretariats and other bodies for which the United Nations Environment Programme provides the secretariat or secretariat functions,

The Conference of the Parties

1. Decides to accept with thanks the offer by the Government of Kenya to host the next meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2021 at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, and, accordingly, agrees to convene these meetings back to back, from 17 to 28 May 2021 in Nairobi, subject to the conclusion of a host country agreement between the host Government and the Secretariat;

The Conference of the Parties,

Requests the Secretariat to assess the relevance for the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants of existing guidelines developed by the United Nations system on the mobilization of resources from non-State actors, such as private-sector entities, non-governmental organizations and development banks, to inform possible future arrangements relating to this matter, for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its next meeting.

The Conference of the Parties,

Taking note of the financial reports on the Basel Convention trust funds for 2018 and estimated expenditures for 2019 from the trust fund for the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (Basel Convention general trust fund),