Invitation to Press Conference & Media Event

Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions to hold ‘sustainable synergies’ meetings aimed at solidifying collaboration among the leading global chemicals and waste agreements

Geneva International Conference Centre / Centre International de Conferences Genève, Room 3, Geneva, 27 April 2013 at 11:00 a.m.

Swiss Ambassador Franz Perrez and Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention Executive Secretary Jim Willis to brief media on the eve of the conference.

The three conventions that govern chemicals and hazardous waste safety at the global level will, for the first time, convene jointly in an historic back-to-back meeting of the parties in Geneva from 28 April to 10 May 2013. Nearly two thousand participants from more than 160 countries will attend the two-week long meeting.

The three legally autonomous conventions will begin by convening joint meetings of the conferences of the parties to strengthen cooperation and collaboration between the conventions, with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of their activities on the ground. Each convention will then continue individually to deal with its own specific topics over the two-week period.

The meetings will culminate in a ministerial segment on 9 and 10 May 2013 dedicated to the theme of strengthening synergies between the conventions at national, regional and global level. The ministerial segment will be opened with scheduled remarks by Swiss Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, UN Under-Secretary General and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva, and Global Environment Facility (GEF) CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii. Over 80 Ministers and Deputy Ministers are scheduled to attend.

Journalists may notify of their intention to attend the 27 April 2013 press conference by emailing elisabeth.maret@bafu.admin.ch.
Media accreditation requirements for the conference may be accessed at https://synergies.pops.int/?tabid=3136.

For more information, visit https://synergies.pops.int, or contact:

Elisabeth Maret, Information Officer, Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Tel. +41 (0)31 323 28 69, elisabeth.maret@bafu.admin.ch

Michael S. Jones, Public Information Officer, Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Mobile tel. +41 (0) 79 730 44 95, michael.jones@brsmeas.org