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)
1 and 3 September 2020 and March 2021
Highlights for Tuesday, 1 September 2020
The twelfth meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (OEWG12) met for the first of two days of its online segment. Despite technical problems, the OEWG got through most of the strategic and technical issues scheduled for discussion.
Participants reviewed the status of the draft report on the evaluation of the strategic framework for the implementation of the Basel Convention for 2012–2021. One party raised concern about a recommendation in the draft report involving the Convention’s Implementation and Compliance Committee. Another requested an extension on submitting comments on the draft report.
OEWG12 also briefly reviewed the status of work on the revised draft practical manual for stakeholders to ensure that notifications of transboundary movements meet environmentally sound management (ESM) requirements.
The OEWG spent much of its time reviewing the status of work on a series of technical guidelines, including:
- updated technical guidelines on wastes containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury;
- draft updated technical guidelines on incineration on land and on specially engineered landfills; and
- new technical draft guidelines on for the identification and ESM of plastic wastes and their disposal.
On the plastic guidelines, participants differed over whether they should further address upstream matters, covering plastic waste prevention.
The OEWG also discussed the deadline for comments on parties’ use and testing of the technical guidelines on transboundary movements of e-waste and used electrical and electronic equipment adopted by the Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2019. The deadline is set for 30 October 2020.
OEWG12 will resume on Thursday, 3 September 2020, after a day of side events.
Images from the Event
Videos from the Event
Basel Convention Resources
IISD ENB/ENB+ Meeting Coverage
- 3rd Meeting of the Intersessional Process Considering the Strategic Approach and the Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste Beyond 2020 (IP3), 30 September - 4 October 2019, UN Conference Centre (UNCC), Bangkok, Thailand
- 2019 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, 29 April - 10 May 2019, Geneva, Switzerland
- 3rd Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG3) of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM), 2-4 April 2019, Montevideo, Uruguay
- OEWG-11, 3-6 September 2018, Geneva, Switzerland
- 8th Regional 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Forum in Asia and the Pacific, 9-12 April 2018, Indore, India
- OEWG-10, 30 May - 2 June 2016, Headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi, Kenya
IISD Resources
- Subscription Page for IISD Reporting Services Peer-to-Peer Mailing Lists (including CHEMICALS-L, SDG, CLIMATE-L, BIODIVERSITY-L, OCEANS-L, and Regional Updates)
- SDG Update Newsletter - A compilation of news, commentary and upcoming events published on the SDG Knowledge Hub
- SDG Knowledge Hub - An Online Resource Center for News and Commentary Regarding the Implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Linkages Update - International Environment and Sustainable Development News