The Stockholm Convention Compliance Committee is meeting for the first time from 24-26 November in Geneva, marking an important moment for the Convention’s implementation efforts. As the committee kick starts its work, we speak with the Chair Jimena Nieto Carrasco to learn more about the goals of this committee, the challenges ahead, and how the committee plans to support Parties in fulfilling their obligations.
Q: It took more than twenty years for the Compliance Committee to be established under the Stockholm Convention and launch its work. How can the Committee best meet expectations?
Jimena: The Committee can meet the expectations by building on the other experiences under other long-standing compliance committees established under MEAs and not losing any time reinventing the wheel, going straight to work on substantive issues.
Q: How will your experience on other compliance committees, such as the Basel Convention, the Rotterdam Convention, the Minamata Convention, the Biosafety Protocol, and the Paris Agreement, inform your approach to leading the Stockholm Convention Compliance Committee?
Jimena: I hope to be able to share with members the discussions as well as the different avenues and approaches taken by those bodies for the Committee to take informed decisions based on precedents that have proven their efficacy.
Q: The Compliance Committee will be cooperating with the compliance committees of the Basel and Rotterdam conventions. What lessons can be drawn from their work, and how will they inform the Committee’s approach moving forward?
Jimena: It is difficult to list all the lessons from which this Committee can benefit, as many will emerge on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific items on our agenda. Nonetheless, I would like to emphasise that the Secretariat has also gained valuable knowledge and experience through its work with the two other Committees. This accumulated expertise will play an important role in helping us achieve the objective that inspired the long-awaited establishment of the Compliance Committee under the Stockholm Convention.
Q: You have worked in a government and know first-hand of the challenges a developing country may face to comply with its obligations, how will the Committee engage with Parties that face resource or capacity constraints in meeting their obligations under the Convention?
Jimena: The fact that the Committee is in a position to communicate with the support of the Secretariat, with parties experiencing challenges with the implementation, is, in itself a way of triggering political will and facilitating action at the national level. In addition, the Committee can discuss options available for providing assistance and supporting Parties to be in compliance with their international obligations under the Treaty.