About
Delegates will discuss implementation challenges that arose after making amendments to the Basel Convention's control annexes to tackle e-waste and plastic waste.
The 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal has become more vital than ever as surging trade volumes of electronic waste (e-waste), plastics, and toxic materials threaten to overwhelm many, especially developing, countries resulting in marine and coastal debris, polluted drinking water, and damage to global ecosystems. The Basel Convention remains the only legally binding global treaty to mandate strict Prior Informed Consent (PIC) and prohibit industrialized nations from dumping hazardous waste in developing countries.
In recent years the Convention has attempted to tackle the e-waste and plastic waste challenges through amendments to its control annexes. The fifteenth meeting of the body charged with reviewing technical and operational policies and decisions to strengthen Convention implementation, the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG), will discuss issues arising from challenges identified during the implementation of these amendments. This includes a March 2026 petition from Norway to adjust the 2019 plastic amendments to clear up confusion in the application of some of the entries, and to address the growing practice of labeling plastic material exports as “products” to escape the Convention’s PIC obligation.
At the behest of the seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP 17) held in 2025, OEWG-15 also will discuss options for addressing the burgeoning global trade in secondhand textiles and clothing, which has grown sevenfold over the past three decades. Studies suggest that a significant portion of this trade contains clothing that is not fit for reuse or recycling and instead ends up in landfills. A growing portion of textile products involve synthetic fibers, which may contain harmful chemicals and/or create microplastics from the degradation of these fibers.
OEWG-15 also will discuss other issues, including:
- improving the functioning of the Convention’s PIC procedure;
- updates to Convention technical guidelines on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), e-waste, waste lead-acid batteries, other waste batteries, used and waste pneumatic tyres, and mercury;
- practical guidance on the development of inventories of waste for certain waste streams;
- draft revisions to the notification and movement documents and instructions for completing them;
- electronic approaches to the notification and movement documents used under the Convention;
- the Basel Convention Partnership Programme; and
- cooperation with the World Customs Organization and the International Maritime Organization.
The outcomes from OEWG-15 will be submitted to COP-18, which will convene in April 2027.
OEWG-15 will meet from 23–26 June 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) writer for this meeting is Keith Ripley. The Digital Editor is Ángeles Estrada. The Editor is Pamela Chasek, Ph.D.
View past and future events
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5th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP5) to the Basel Convention
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6th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP6) to the Basel Convention
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7th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) to the Basel Convention
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5th Session of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention (OEWG5)
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8th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP8) to the Basel Convention
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9th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the Basel Convention
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10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Basel Convention
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2013 Meetings of Basel Convention COP11, Rotterdam Convention COP6, Stockholm Convention COP6, and ExCOPs2
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9th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention (OEWG9)
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2015 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)
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10th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention (OEWG10)
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2017 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)
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11th Meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (OEWG11)
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2019 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
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12th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (OEWG12)
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2021 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)
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Resumed Session of the 12th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention (OEWG-12)
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Face-to-Face Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)
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13th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention
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2023 Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)
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14th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention
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2025 Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)
Upcoming event
15th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention
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