Meetings documents

1. Opening of the meeting.

2. Adoption of the agenda.

3. Organizational matters:

Note by the Secretariat

I. Introduction

1. The present note provides information on the budget scenarios requested in decisions BC-16/28, (para. 26), RC-11/15 (para. 29) and SC-11/27 (para. 28), on programmes of work and budgets for the biennium 2024–2025, adopted by the conferences of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants at their 2023 meetings.

1. Opening of the meeting.

2. Adoption of the agenda.

3. Organizational matters:

Note by the Secretariat

I. Introduction

1. At its first meeting, in decision RC-1/1, the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade adopted its rules of procedure, as contained in the annex to that decision, with the exception of the second sentence of paragraph 1 of rule 45, which it agreed to maintain in square brackets to indicate that the sentence had not been agreed on and was of no effect.

Note by the Secretariat

I. Introduction

1. Since the report provided to the eleventh 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, the Chemical Review Committee has held its nineteenth meeting, in Rome, from 3 to 6 October 2023, and its twentieth meeting, in Rome, from 17 to 20 September 2024.

Note by the Secretariat

I. Introduction

1. Pursuant to Article 5 of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, the Chemical Review Committee, at its eleventh meeting, in decision CRC-11/4, recommended that carbosulfan be listed in Annex III to the Convention. Subsequently, at its twelfth meeting, in accordance with Article 7 of the Convention, the Committee, by decision CRC-12/2, adopted a draft decision guidance document on carbosulfan (UNEP/FAO/RC/CRC.12/3/Rev.1) and decided to forward it, together with the related tabular summary of comments (UNEP/FAO/RC/CRC.12/INF/7/Rev.1), to the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention for its consideration. The draft decision guidance document is set out in the addendum to the present note (UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.12/7/Add.1) for consideration by the Conference of the Parties.

Draft decision guidance document

Note by the Secretariat

As is mentioned in document UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.12/7, the Chemical Review Committee, at its twelfth meeting, by decision CRC-12/2, adopted a draft decision guidance document on carbosulfan. The draft decision guidance document is set out in the annex to the present note for consideration by the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. The annex has not been formally edited.

Note by the Secretariat

I. Introduction

1. Pursuant to Article 6 of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, the Chemical Review Committee, at its ninth meeting, in decision CRC-9/4, recommended the listing of fenthion (ultra-low-volume (ULV) formulations at or above 640 g active ingredient/L) as a severely hazardous pesticide formulation in Annex III to the Convention. Subsequently, at its tenth meeting, in accordance with Article 7 of the Convention, the Committee, by decision CRC-10/2, adopted a draft decision guidance document on fenthion (ULV formulations at or above 640 g active ingredient/L) (UNEP/FAO/RC/CRC.10/3) and decided to forward it, together with the related tabular summary of comments (UNEP/FAO/RC/CRC.10/INF/5), to the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention for its consideration. The draft decision guidance document is set out in the addendum to the present note (UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.12/10/Add.1) for consideration by the Conference of the Parties.

Draft decision guidance document

Note by the Secretariat

As is mentioned in document UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.12/10, the Chemical Review Committee, at its tenth meeting, by decision CRC-10/2, adopted a draft decision guidance document on fenthion (ultra low volume formulations at or above 640 g active ingredient/L). The draft decision guidance document is set out in the annex to the present note for consideration by the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. The annex has not been formally edited.

Note by the Secretariat

I. Introduction

1. Pursuant to Article 5 of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, the Chemical Review Committee, at its nineteenth meeting, reviewed notifications of final regulatory action for mercury in the industrial category submitted by Colombia and the European Union, together with the supporting documentation referred to therein. Taking into account each of the specific criteria set out in Annex II to the Convention, the Committee concluded that the notifications had met the criteria specified in Annex II to the Convention. Accordingly, the Committee agreed, in decision CRC-19/4, to recommend to the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention that mercury (CAS No. 7439-97-6) be listed in Annex III to the Convention as an industrial chemical and proceeded to prepare a draft decision guidance document.

Draft decision guidance document

Note by the Secretariat

As is mentioned in document UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.12/13, the Chemical Review Committee, at its twentieth meeting, by decision CRC-20/2, adopted a draft decision guidance document on mercury. The draft decision guidance document is set out in the annex to the present note for consideration by the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. The annex has not been formally edited.

Note by the Secretariat

I. Introduction

1. The present note provides information on the budget scenarios requested in decisions BC-16/28, (para. 26), RC-11/15 (para. 29) and SC-11/27 (para. 28), on programmes of work and budgets for the biennium 2024–2025, adopted by the conferences of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants at their 2023 meetings.

1. Opening of the meeting.

2. Adoption of the agenda.

3. Organizational matters:

Note by the Secretariat

I. Introduction

1. At its first meeting, in decision SC-1/1, the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants adopted its rules of procedure, as contained in the annex to that decision, with the exception of the second sentence of paragraph 1 of rule 45, which it agreed to maintain in square brackets to indicate that it had not been agreed on and was of no effect.

Note by the Secretariat

I. Introduction

1. The present note provides information on the budget scenarios requested in decisions BC-16/28, (para. 26), RC-11/15 (para. 29) and SC-11/27 (para. 28), on programmes of work and budgets for the biennium 2024–2025, adopted by the conferences of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants at their 2023 meetings.

Note by the Secretariat

The annexes to the present note contain a tentative schedule of work for the meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (annex I) and a list of possible contact and other groups (annex II). The tentative schedule of work, which was agreed to by the bureaux of the conferences of the Parties to the three conventions at their joint meeting on 5 November 2024, is provisional and could be subject to changes before or during the two weeks of the meetings. The present note, including its annexes, has not been formally edited.

Note by the Secretariat

1. In decisions BC 16/26, RC-11/13 and SC-11/25, on the venue and dates of the next meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the conferences of the Parties decided that their next meetings, to be held back to back, from 28 April to 9 May 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland, would include a high-level segment of no more than one day’s duration.

Note by the Secretariat

1. In order to facilitate consideration of the credentials of the representatives of the Parties present at the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the eleventh 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, and the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Secretariat has prepared a table listing those States and political or regional economic integration organizations that have deposited with the depositary their relevant instruments expressing their consent to be bound by these conventions, as at 1 January 2023. This table is attached as an annex to the present note.

Note by the Secretariat

As is mentioned in the note by the Secretariat on the programmes of work and budgets for the biennium 2026–2027: combined proposal (UNEP/CHW.17/27–UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.12/26–UNEP/POPS/COP.12/29), the annex to the present note contains the report of the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to the respective conferences of the Parties on the implementation of the memorandums of understanding for the reporting period 1 January 2023 to 30 November 2024. The present note, including its annex, has not been formally edited.

Note by the Secretariat

The annexes to the present note contain a tentative schedule of work for the meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (annex I) and a list of possible contact and other groups (annex II). The tentative schedule of work, which was agreed to by the bureaux of the conferences of the Parties to the three conventions at their joint meeting on 5 November 2024, is provisional and could be subject to changes before or during the two weeks of the meetings. The present note, including its annexes, has not been formally edited.

Note by the Secretariat

To facilitate consideration by the Conference of the Parties of the inclusion of mercury in Annex III to the Rotterdam Convention, the annexes to the present note set out respectively decision CRC 19/4 on the recommendation by the Chemical Review Committee pertaining to the substance including the rationale prepared by the Committee at its nineteenth meeting and decision CRC-20/2 adopting the draft decision guidance document on mercury and forwarding it to the Conference of the Parties. The present note, including its annexes, has not been formally edited.

Note by the Secretariat

1. At its twentieth meeting, the Chemical Review Committee finalized the text of the draft decision guidance document for mercury, as set out in the annex to document UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.12/13/Add.1, and agreed to forward it, together with the related tabular summary of comments received and how they were taken into account in the preparation of the draft decision guidance document, to the Conference of the Parties for its consideration.

Note by the Secretariat

1. In decisions BC-16/28, RC-11/15 and SC-11/27, on programmes of work and budgets for the biennium 2024–2025, the conferences of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, among other things:

Note by the Secretariat

As is mentioned in the note by the Secretariat on the programmes of work and budgets for the biennium 2026–2027: combined proposal (UNEP/CHW.17/27–UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.12/26–UNEP/POPS/COP.12/29), the annex to the present note contains the report of the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to the respective conferences of the Parties on the implementation of the memorandums of understanding for the reporting period 1 January 2023 to 30 November 2024. The present note, including its annex, has not been formally edited.

Note by the Secretariat

As is mentioned in the note by the Secretariat on the programmes of work and budgets for the biennium 2026–2027: combined proposal (UNEP/CHW.17.27–UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.12/26–UNEP/POPS/COP.12/29), the annex to the present note sets out the report of the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to the Conference of the Parties on the implementation of the memorandum of understanding for the reporting period 1 January 2023 to 30 November 2024. The present note, including its annex, has not been formally edited.

Note by the Secretariat

1. In decisions BC 16/26, RC-11/13 and SC-11/25, on the venue and dates of the next meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the conferences of the Parties decided that their next meetings, to be held back to back, from 28 April to 9 May 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland, would include a high-level segment of no more than one day’s duration.