News Features

 

All three Final Reports of the 2019 Triple COPs now available
Final Reports of the meetings of the Conferences of Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm conventions are now online in all 6 UN languages.

All three Final Reports of the 2019 Triple COPs now available

All three Final Reports of the 2019 Triple COPs now available
 
Accession of Equatorial Guinea takes the number of Parties to the Stockholm Convention to 184
The Convention will enter into force for Equatorial Guinea on 23 March 2020.

Accession of Equatorial Guinea takes the number of Parties to the Stockholm Convention to 184

Accession of Equatorial Guinea takes the number of Parties to the Stockholm Convention to 184
 
Global seaborne operation on illegal waste dumping, led by INTERPOL, highlights the scale of plastic waste pollution
Month-long operation “30 Days at Sea 2.0” involves more than 200 enforcement agencies and detects more than 3,000 serious offences – land-based and maritime - across 61 countries

Global seaborne operation on illegal waste dumping, led by INTERPOL, highlights the scale of plastic waste pollution

Global seaborne operation on illegal waste dumping, led by INTERPOL, highlights the scale of plastic waste pollution
Month-long operation “30 Days at Sea 2.0” involves more than 200 enforcement agencies and detects more than 3,000 serious offences – land-based and maritime - across 61 countries
BRS workshop builds negotiating skills within West African governments to enhance implementation of the 3 conventions
Government officials from francophone and anglophone countries gather in Dakar, Senegal, 4 to 6 February 2020, with funding generously provided by the European Union, Australia and Germany.

BRS workshop builds negotiating skills within West African governments to enhance implementation of the 3 conventions

BRS workshop builds negotiating skills within West African governments to enhance implementation of the 3 conventions
 
Diplomatic community in Geneva marks the entry into force of the Basel Convention’s Ban Amendment
Watch live the special event in the UN Palais des Nations, which brings together many of the Convention’s 187 Parties to celebrate the strengthening of efforts for implementing this global, legally-binding, international agreement on waste.

Diplomatic community in Geneva marks the entry into force of the Basel Convention’s Ban Amendment

Diplomatic community in Geneva marks the entry into force of the Basel Convention’s Ban Amendment
 
BRS Executive Secretary contributes to discussions on “what role for WTO on addressing plastic pollution” in Geneva
High-level event on 25 November brings together key global stakeholders including the World Trade Organisation (WTO), World Bank, World Economic Forum (WEF), and China.

BRS Executive Secretary contributes to discussions on “what role for WTO on addressing plastic pollution” in Geneva

BRS Executive Secretary contributes to discussions on “what role for WTO on addressing plastic pollution” in Geneva
 
Household waste in the spotlight: opportunity to comment on Basel Convention guidance document
The draft overall guidance document on the environmentally sound management of household waste is now available for comment by Parties and others, by 31 January 2020.

Household waste in the spotlight: opportunity to comment on Basel Convention guidance document

Household waste in the spotlight: opportunity to comment on Basel Convention guidance document
 
First online consultation for working group of the new Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership
Hot on the heels of the PWP launch in Geneva on 12 November, the first online consultation takes place on 13 November, chaired by the Co-Chairs, Mr. Ole Thomas Thommesen (Norway) and Mr. Ross Bartley (BIC).

First online consultation for working group of the new Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership

First online consultation for working group of the new Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership
 
Norway pledges funding for new Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership, which launches on 12 November
As the 2019 Our Oceans conference concludes in Oslo, Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment, Mr Ole Elvestuen, confirms substantial support for efforts to tackle marine plastic litter.

Norway pledges funding for new Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership, which launches on 12 November

Norway pledges funding for new Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership, which launches on 12 November
 
New UN Partnership on Plastic Waste launched in Geneva on 12 November, 2019
Established by the Basel Convention COP in May, members and the diplomatic community gather to launch this new initiative at a special event hosted by the City of Geneva.

New UN Partnership on Plastic Waste launched in Geneva on 12 November, 2019

New UN Partnership on Plastic Waste launched in Geneva on 12 November, 2019
 
UN Secretary General calls for increased investment in waste management
With waste the theme of this year’s World Habitat Day, Antonio Guterres highlights the role of frontier technologies to transform waste into wealth, and stresses the need to reduce waste in the first place.

UN Secretary General calls for increased investment in waste management

UN Secretary General calls for increased investment in waste management
 
UN Human Rights Council adopts resolution on chemicals and wastes management
Resolution urges implementation of 15 key principles on human rights and the protection of workers from exposure to toxic substances.

UN Human Rights Council adopts resolution on chemicals and wastes management

UN Human Rights Council adopts resolution on chemicals and wastes management

Resolution urges implementation of 15 key principles on human rights and the protection of workers from exposure to toxic substances.

In closing its 42nd session, the Human Rights Council has just adopted a key resolution for chemicals & wastes management and human rights, calling upon all States, business enterprises and other stakeholders to implement the 15 "Principles on human rights and the protection of workers from exposure to toxic substances" as set out in the 2019 report developed under the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on “the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes” (the Special Rapporteur on ‘Human Rights and Toxics’), Mr. Baskut Tuncak, who had presented such report earlier this month to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/42/41, available in the 6 UN languages at:

https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/42/41; see also:
https://www.srtoxics.org/2019-hrc-report-worker-principles/).

This resolution on the "protection of the rights of workers exposed to hazardous substances and wastes" recognises, among other things and in connection with the 2030 Agenda on sustainable development as well as with other fundamental UN human rights instruments or international labour standards, the human rights duty of States - and the corresponding responsibility of businesses - to prevent "unsafe" workers exposures to toxic substances, and calls for the:
  • Strengthening of the coherence between human rights and occupational health and safety standards,
  • Safeguarding of reproductive health in efforts to eliminate discrimination against women in employment, and
  • Strengthening of the global regime for chemicals & wastes management to promote human rights.

More information:

At present, the text of the adopted resolution may be found on the webpage here.

Click here to read more information on the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Toxics.

The UN takes further steps towards sustainability and is on course to be climate neutral by 2020
The BRS Secretariat is a proud member of the UN’s Greening the Blue initiative and has been climate neutral for 6 years in a row.

The UN takes further steps towards sustainability and is on course to be climate neutral by 2020

The UN takes further steps towards sustainability and is on course to be climate neutral by 2020

The BRS Secretariat is a proud member of the UN’s Greening the Blue (GtB) initiative and has been climate neutral for 6 years in a row. As the newly-published this year’s GtB Annual Report shows, the BRS Secretariat measures and monitors its overall consumption of water, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions and puts in place mitigation measures to ensure that its footprint is ever lower.

Executive Secretary, Rolph Payet commented that “since 2011 the Secretariat has put in place practical measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example, in 2017 we reduced our global air travel footprint by 15% on average compared to previous COP years (2015, 2013, 2011) and overall, since 2011, the Secretariat has reduced its carbon footprint by 21%, most notably due to promoting teleconferencing and back-to-back meetings”.

The Secretariat has been carbon-neutral since 2013. Reducing the Secretariat’s water consumption and generation of waste, including plastic waste, is also a priority. During the 2019 Triple COPs, special measures were taken to reduce the use of single-use plastics making the two-week long meetings not only paperless, but plastic-free.

For more on how the BRS Secretariat promotes sustainability across its operations, see: https://www.brsmeas.org/Secretariat/ManagementReports/Sustainability/tabid/2756/language/en-US/Default.aspx or contact Ana-Maria Witt at ana.witt@brsmeas.org.

For the new Greening the Blue Report, including the latest data on the BRS Secretariat and other UN organisations, see:
https://www.greeningtheblue.org/what-the-un-is-doing/secretariat-basel-rotterdam-stockholm-conventions-brs.

New plastic waste project underway in Bangladesh
Building on the recent Basel Convention plastic waste amendment, a new Norwegian-funded initiative has begun, with inception meetings in Dhaka for experts and stakeholders, 18 to 19 September, 2019.

New plastic waste project underway in Bangladesh

New plastic waste project underway in Bangladesh
 
More than 100 participants attend regional meeting to boost implementation of the Basel and Rotterdam conventions in Africa
Dakar, Senegal, hosts a capacity-building workshop for governments and other stakeholders working towards the sound management of chemicals and waste, including plastic waste. Funding support kindly provided by the Government of France.

More than 100 participants attend regional meeting to boost implementation of the Basel and Rotterdam conventions in Africa

More than 100 participants attend regional meeting to boost implementation of the Basel and Rotterdam conventions in Africa
 
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