Lusaka, Zambia, from 18 to 20 March 2025
Venue: The Africa regional preparatory meeting will take place from 18 to 20 March 2025 in Lusaka, Zambia, thanks to the generous offer from the Government of Zambia to host the event.
Meeting Objectives: The objective of the regional preparatory meeting is to give Parties from the Africa region the possibility to consult each other in advance of the 2025 COPs, consider meeting documents, discuss substantive matters, identify regional priorities and challenges, and facilitate the preparation of regional positions and forthcoming elections. The programme for the meeting was developed in consultation with members of the bureaux of the conferences of the Parties to the three conventions from the Africa region. As indicated in the programme, certain sessions of the meeting are closed for observers in order to allow Parties to discuss regional positions on items of the agendas of the meetings of the conferences of the Parties.
A one-day technical assistance workshop for targeted Parties in the region will be organized by the United Nations Environment Programme back-to-back with the regional preparatory meeting on 21 March 2025.
Working Language: English and French.
Organizers: The meeting is organized in cooperation with the Basel and Stockholm conventions Regional Centre located in South Africa (BCRC/SCRC South Africa). The regional preparatory meetings for the 2025 meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions are organized thanks to the generous financial support provided by the Governments of Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as the United Nations Environment Programme.
Participants are invited to consult the meeting documents of the 2025 conferences of the Parties in advance of the regional preparatory meeting.
Participation of observers: The participation of observers in the open sessions of the meeting is subject to agreement by the members of the bureaux from the region and meeting venue capacity. Observers wishing to participate in the meeting should contact the Secretariat by 17 January 2025 at: emilie.raynaud@un.org. It is strongly recommended for observers to not make travel arrangements for participation in the meeting, prior to the receipt of a confirmation letter informing them of the bureaux’ approval for their participation in the meeting. Following receipt of the confirmation letter, observers are responsible for making their own arrangements to participate in the meeting, including travel, visa and hotel arrangements. Financial assistance will not be provided for the participation of observers in the meeting.