7 June 2016
Basel Convention Adopts 13 Strategic, Technical and Legal Decisions
Photo by IISD/ENB
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Delegates at the Tenth Meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (OEWG 10) advanced work on technical, legal and strategic matters.

OEWG 10 adopted 13 decisions on, inter alia: development of guidelines for environmentally sound management (ESM); technical guidelines on persistent organic pollutant (POPs) wastes; technical guidelines on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE); the creation of a new partnership for the ESM of household waste; and cooperation between the Basel Convention and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

oewg102 June 2016: Delegates at the Tenth Meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (OEWG 10) advanced work on technical, legal and strategic matters. OEWG 10 adopted 13 decisions on, inter alia: development of guidelines for environmentally sound management (ESM); technical guidelines on persistent organic pollutant (POPs) wastes; technical guidelines on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE); the creation of a new partnership for the ESM of household waste; and cooperation between the Basel Convention and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

OEWG 10 convened from 30 May to 2 June 2016, at the headquarters of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 230 participants attended the meeting, including 175 delegates representing 95 parties and 14 representing the six Basel Convention Regional Centres (BCRCs).

On technical guidelines on WEEE, OEWG 10 participants discussed the difficulty of establishing common criteria on residual lifetime and age of used equipment, agreeing that country-based criteria should be used. Participants also addressed challenges related to obsolete technologies, including cathode ray tubes and hazardous wastes from failure analysis, repair and refurbishment operations in developing countries. Participants considered how to improve the sea-land interface during discussions on cooperation between the Basel Convention and the IMO, with some urging following the precautionary principle to protect the environment and human health, particularly in small island developing States (SIDS).

Participants also discussed the anticipated entry into force of the Ban Amendment, which prohibits all transboundary movements of hazardous wastes from the Annex VII countries (the EU, Liechtenstein and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries) to non-Annex VII countries.

OEWG 10 also adopted decisions on: the mid-term evaluation of the strategic framework; the Cartagena Declaration on Prevention, Minimization and Recovery of Hazardous Wastes and Other Wastes; national reporting; providing further legal clarity; cooperation with the Committee Administering the Mechanism for Promoting Implementation and Compliance (ICC), including on guidance on Basel Convention provisions dealing with the consequences of illegal traffic; follow-up to the Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment (PACE); cooperation with the World Customs Organization on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System; and the work programme for the OEWG for 2018-2019. [IISD RS Coverage of Basel Convention Meeting] [IISD RS Summary Report] [Meeting Website]


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