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Highlights
for Monday,
20 September 2004
The
first Conference of Parties (COP-1) to the Rotterdam
Convention on The Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure For
Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International
Trade opened Monday morning, 20 September, in Geneva.
Following opening statements, delegates addressed
organizational matters and the consideration of chemicals for
inclusion in Annex III. During the afternoon, delegates
convened in a Committee of the Whole (COW) session, and a
legal group began deliberations.
Above photo L-R: Louise
Fresco, FAO Assistant Director-General, Niek van der
Graaff,
Joint Executive Secretary for the Secretariat of the Rotterdam
Convention (FAO), President Philippe
Roch, and Jim Willis, Joint
Executive Secretary for the Secretariat of the Rotterdam
Convention (UNEP).
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Opening Plenary:
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Shafqat
Kakakhel, UNEP Deputy Executive Director, cited the importance
of the Rotterdam Convention as an effort to provide a lasting
solution to the problem of hazardous chemicals and pesticides. |
Louise
Fresco, FAO Assistant Director-General, stressed the need to
move forward into the future of the Rotterdam Convention and
continue its progress. |
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Above photo: View of the packed plenary
at the Geneva International Conference Center.
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Phillipe
Roch, State Secretary, Director, Swiss Agency for the Environment,
Forests, and Landscape, welcomed delegates to Geneva and cited the
importance of coordination among international efforts to manage
chemicals.
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MATTERS STIPULATED BY THE
CONVENTION FOR ACTION BY THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES AT ITS FIRST
MEETING
PHYSICAL
LOCATION OF THE SECRETARIAT:
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Patrick Szell, Secretariat, introduced a joint proposal by
Switzerland, Italy and Germany on the procedure
to be followed at COP-1 for selecting the physical location of the
Convention Secretariat.
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Maria Teriosina (Lithuania) chaired the discussions on selecting
the physical location of the Convention Secretariat.
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CONSIDERATION OF CHEMICALS FOR INCLUSION IN ANNEX
III:
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The EC supported the addition of the 14 chemicals proposed. Above photo: Klaus
Berend (EC)
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Bill Murray, Secretariat, introduced the documents on the chemicals to
be listed in Annex III by the COP under Article 8 of the Rotterdam
Convention (UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.1/5-14).
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COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
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Above photo (center): Maria Celina de Azevedo Rodrigues
(Brazil) was elected to chair the Committee of the Whole (COW)
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Masa
Nagai, Secretariat, introduced the draft financial rules (UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.1/16)
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COMPOSITION OF THE PIC REGIONS:
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MOROCCO,
with DJIBOUTI, SENEGAL, and EGYPT, noted concern over the difference
between the seven FAO regions and the five UN regions being used for
the purpose of Bureau elections, and called for using the UN regions
as PIC regions. Above photos L-R: Fatima Dia Toure (Senegal)
and Zerouali Abdelhay (Morocco)
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Above
photos L-R: Tarek Eid El Ruby (Egypt) and Hassan Doualeh
(Djibouti)
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CANADA
suported the use of FAO regions for notification purposes. Above
photos L-R: Barry Stemshorn and John Mundy (Canada)
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Delegates agreed to convene an open-ended contact group
on PIC regions, to be chaired by Argentina.
Above photo: Jim Willis, Joint
Executive Secretary for the Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention
(UNEP) in consultation with Argentinian delegates Lorenzo Gonzalez
Videla and Miguel Angel Hildmann. |
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