I. Opening of the meeting
1. The first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade was held at the Geneva International Conference Centre, Switzerland, from 20 to 24 September 2004.
Note by the secretariat
1. The text of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade was adopted at a Conference of Plenipotentiaries on 10 September 1998 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In accordance with its Article 24, the Convention was opened for signature by all States and regional economic integration organizations in Rotterdam on 11 September 1998, and subsequently at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 12 September 1998 to 10 September 1999. As of 11 September 1999, the Convention had received 73 signatures. In accordance with its Article 26, the Convention entered into force on 24 February 2004, on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
1. Article 4 of the Rotterdam Convention states:
“1. Each Party shall designate one or more national authorities that shall be authorized to act on its behalf in the performance of the administrative functions required by this Convention.
The secretariat has the honour to submit to the Conference in the annex to the present note the offer of the Governments of Italy and Switzerland to jointly host the secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade in Rome and Geneva. This offer was previously circulated as document UNEP/FAO/PIC/INC.8/INF/4.
The secretariat has the honour to submit to the Conference of the Parties a document entitled "Genève Roma for PIC - Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention", provided jointly by the Governments of Italy and Switzerland.
The secretariat has the honour to submit to the Conference, in the annex to the present note, an updated version, dated 8 October 2001, of the offer of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to host the secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade in Bonn.
The secretariat has the honor to submit to the Conference an updated version, dated January 2004, of the information originally provided by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany pursuant to decision INC-7/8, entitled: "Responses of the Federal Republic of Germany to the UNEP/PIC Decision INC-7/8
The secretariat has the honour to submit to the Conference, in the annex to the present note, the document entitled: “UN-Campus in Bonn”, provided by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The secretariat has the honour to submit to the Conference, in the annex to the present note, the document entitled: “Additional information / key elements”, provided by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
I. Background
1. The basis for cooperation between the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention is set out in the second, eighth, ninth and tenth recitals of the Rotterdam Convention, which state as follows: