Bureau of the Conference of the Parties

In accordance with Rule 22 of the rules of procedure of the Rotterdam Convention, as adopted in decision RC-1/1, the Conference of the Parties shall elect at each ordinary meeting a President and four Vice-Presidents, one of whom shall act as Rapporteur. These officers shall serve as the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties.

The members of the Bureau shall commence their terms of office at the closure of the meeting at which they are elected and remain in office until the closure of the following ordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties, including for any intervening extraordinary meeting. Each of the five United Nations regional groups shall be represented by one Bureau member.

The offices of the President and Rapporteur shall normally be subject to rotation among the United Nations regional groups. No elected officer may serve on the Bureau for more than two consecutive terms.

Members of the Bureau

Current members of the Bureau

The members of the Bureau, to serve until the closure of the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, are as follows:

President:

  • Mr. Iftikhar-ul-Hassan Shah replacing Mr. Syed Mujtaba Hussain (Pakistan - Asia and Pacific group)

Vice-Presidents:

  • Mr. Joseph C. Edmund (Ghana - Africa group)
  • Mr. Andrejs Sisulins (Latvia – Eastern Europe group)
  • Mr. Osvaldo Patricio Álvarez-Pérez (Chile - Latin America and the Caribbean group)
  • Ms. Mariska Wouters (New Zealand - Western European and Others group) (Rapporteur)

The Chair of the Chemical Review Committee and the Chair of the Compliance Committee are ex-officio members of the Bureau.

Bureau Members - May 2023 to May 2025 (COP-12)

Former members of the Bureau

Bureau Members - June 2022 to May 2023 (COP-11)
Bureau Members - May 2019 to June 2021 (COP-10)
Bureau Members - May 2017 to May 2019 (COP-9)
Bureau Members - May 2015 to May 2017 (COP-8)
Bureau Members - May 2013 to May 2015 (COP-7)
Bureau Members - May 2011 to May 2013 (COP-6)
Bureau Members - May 2008 to May 2011 (COP-5)

Meetings of the Bureau