Highlights for Friday, 10 May 2019
Osvaldo Álvarez-Pérez, Rotterdam Convention COP9 President, Mohammed Khashashneh, Stockholm Convention COP9 President, and Abraham Zivayi Matiza, Basel Convention COP14 President, gavel the BRS COPs 2019 to a close
On the 11th and final day of the 2019 meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, delegates worked intensively to finalize work on a range of issues. A highlight of the day was the consensus-based decision to address plastic wastes under the Basel Convention. This agreement was welcomed with cheers in the plenary room, as delegates lauded what many consider to be a historic decision on an issue of global concern. Parties to the Basel Convention also adopted, on an interim basis, technical guidelines on environmentally sound management of electrical and electronic wastes (e-wastes). These guidelines can now be implemented, even as the Expert Working Group continues its work to address questions about export of wastes for refurbishment.The Rotterdam Convention also sought to conclude its agenda and met with mixed results. A key success was adoption of a decision to enhance the effectiveness of the Convention, which will improve the listing process under the RC, as well as information exchange among parties. However, the informal consultations held over the past few days to seek agreement to list additional chemicals in Annex III of the Convention met with no success. Despite the recommendation of the Chemical Review Committee to subject acetochlor, carbosulfan, fenthion, and paraquat to the prior informed consent (PIC) procedure, delegates were unable to reach consensus on this issue. The chemicals will be referred to the next meeting of the COP for further consideration.Plenary was suspended in the early evening to allow delegates to finalize details related to the budget. Delegates reconvened at 8pm for the adoption of the programme of work and budget for 2020-21 and closing statements. The meetings were gaveled to a close at 10:13 pm.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 2019 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. The summary and analysis report is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Morning Plenary: Joint Session
View of the plenary from the dais
Manoj Kumar Gangeya, Co-Chair, Contact Group on Plastics
Andrew McNee, Co-Chair, Contact Group on Effectiveness
Jozef Buys, Belgium, is thanked in plenary for his 20 years of service within the chemicals process
Abdoulaye Moussa Abderamon, Chad
Franz Perrez, Switzerland
María Florencia Grimalt, Argentina
Peter Opiyo, Kenya, speaking on behalf of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan
Reginald Hernaus, Co-Chair, Contact Group on Technical Assistance and Financial Resources
Bechir Simpara, Mali
Noluzuko 'Zukie' Gwayi, South Africa
Italo Andrés Flamenco Córdova, El Salvador
Heidar Ali Balouji, Iran
Roger Baro, Burkina Faso
Contact Groups
Contact Group on Programme of Work and Budget
Contact Group on Plastics
Signing Ceremony
Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UNEP, signs an MOU with Abraham Zivayi Matiza, Basel Convention COP14 President, Mohammed Khashashneh, Stockholm Convention COP9 President, and Osvaldo Álvarez-Pérez, Rotterdam Convention COP9 President, which is handed to Hans Dreyer, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) (respectively)
Closing Plenary
View of the dais during the closing plenary
Natalia Kostenko, Russian Federation
Serge Molly Allo'o Allo'o, Gabon
Mohammed Bin Majid Al-Kasbi, Oman
Xuezhi Xiao, China
Carlos Garcia Castillo, Peru
Sophie Bernier, Canada
Sverre Thomas Jahre, Norway
Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network (BAN)
Kei Ohno Woodall, BRS Conventions Secretariat
Delegates from Norway and Japan celebrate the adoption of their proposal to address plastics
Delegates applaud the conclusion of the BRS COPs
Delegation Photos
Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC) family photo
Family photo of the European Region
Delegates from Indonesia
Delegates from Egypt
Delegates from Bolivia
Delegates from New Zealand
Delegates from Montenegro and Mongolia
Delegates from El Salvador
Mohammed Khashashneh, Stockholm Convention COP9 President, with delegates from Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, and Kuwait
Delegates from Saudi Arabia
Delegates from Nicaragua
Delegates from Iran
Delegates from Maldives and Palestine with the Stockholm Convention COP9 President
Delegates from the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Around the Venue
Gillian Guthrie, Jamaica
Delegates from Iraq consult
Delegates from Switzerland and Argentina consult
Carlos Martin-Novella, BRS Deputy Executive Secretary
Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, BRS Conventions, with Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UNEP
Alton Lukhele and Bianca Hlob'sile Dlamini, eSwatini
Stephanie Laruelle, BRS Secretariat, and Jacob Duer, Chief, Chemicals and Health Branch, UNEP
Members of the Secretariat with Hans Dreyer, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention, FAO (center)
The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team covering the BRS COPs: Jen Allan; Canada/UK; Olivia Pasini, Switzerland; Jessica Templeton, US/UK; Annelies van Gaalen, South Africa; Tallash Kantai, Kenya; Priscila Pereira de Andrade, Brazil; and Kiara Worth, South Africa
