Parties discussed efforts and proposals to enhance the effectiveness of the Rotterdam Convention, including the process for listing chemicals in Annex III to the Convention.
In an attempt to improve the effectiveness of the Convention, the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties mandated an intersessional working group to carry out intersessional work on the process of listing chemicals in Annex III to the Convention and to develop options for improving the effectiveness of the listing process and information flows. The work carried out between the seventh and eighth meetings of the Conference of the Parties pursuant to decision RC-7/5 is described here.
At its eighth meeting, the Conference of the Parties took note of the various options for enhancing the effectiveness of the Rotterdam Convention, including by improving the prior informed consent procedure, improving the listing process and considering cross-cutting issues such as the provision of technical and financial assistance, and agreed on further work in the intersessional period (RC-8/8). Information on the intersessional work pursuant to decision RC-8/8 is provided here.
At its ninth meeting, in decision RC-9/6, the Conference of the Parties invited Parties to further analyze and develop proposals, including in cooperation with other Parties, to enhance the effectiveness of the Rotterdam Convention, in particular to improve the listing process. The Conference of the Parties agreed on a number of activities:
Progress related to implementation of these activities in the 2020-2021 biennium will be reported to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in July 2021.