The third meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-3) to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade met from 9-13 October 2006, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Over 520 participants, representing more than 140 governments, UN agencies, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, attended the meeting. COP-3 considered reports on activities within the Convention’s mandate and adopted 16 decisions, including the programme of work and the budget for 2007-2008; implementation of the Convention; chrysotile asbestos; financial mechanisms; noncompliance; and cooperation and coordination among the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions’ secretariats. Delegates did not reach agreement on the mechanisms and procedures for non-compliance and deferred the decision on including chrysotile asbestos in Annex III (Chemicals subject to the PIC procedure) of the Convention to COP-4, but the meeting did make progress on important policy and operational issues, including sustainable financing and capacity building, and cooperation and coordination between the chemicals and waste conventions. COP-4 is scheduled to take place in Rome in October 2008.
Link to further information
IISD RS coverage of the meeting