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First Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Stockholm Convention
2-6 May 2005 | Punta del Este, Uruguay
Daily Web Coverage & Daily Reports (in English, French & Spanish):

Highlights from Monday, 2 May 2005

The first Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs COP-1) opened Monday morning, 2 May, in Punta del Este, Uruguay. During morning and afternoon Plenary sessions, delegates addressed organizational matters and considered agenda items on the rules of procedure and budget. Delegates also convened in a Committee of the Whole (COW) session, and in a contact group on the POPs Review Committee (POPRC).



Panel from the morning session. From left to right: Maria Cristina Cardenas (Secretariat); COP President Mariano Arana (Uruguay); John Buccini (Secretariat); David Ogden (Secretariat).
Reinaldo Gargano, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Uruguay, welcomed delegates to COP-1 and highlighted Urugay's efforts to implement the Stockholm Convention. Mariano Arana, Uruguay's Minister of Housing and Territorial Planning and Environment was elected President of COP-1. John Buccini, Acting Executive Secretary for the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention reported on the achievements of the POPs Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC).
Colin Church, UK, on behalf of the EU highlighted the need to consider previous proposals on funding within the financial rules. Yue Ruisheng, China, State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). Barry Stemshorn, CANADA asked that the Secretariat prepare a draft decision thanking the INC for its work and recognizing the contributions of the Secretariat.
Tarek Eid El Ruby, Egypt, proposed that the legal working group conduct its work in all six UN languages. Ibrahima Sow, Senegal, commented on the nominations for the legal working group co-Chair. Raphael Azeredo, Brazil, on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC), proposed having two co-chairs for the working group, one each from a developed and a developing country.
Niek van der Graaff, Executive Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention (FAO) commented on arrangements for UNEP and FAO to jointly perform the function of the Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention Secretariats. Beat Nobs, Switzerland, introduced a proposal to enhance synergies between chemicals and wastes-related conventions.

Committee of the Whole
Panel from the Committee of the Whole
Chair Hyman introduced the agenda item on the POPs Review Committee. Fatouma Ouane, Secretariat, introduced documents on the POPs Review Committee (POPRC). Georg Karlaganis, Switzerland, emphasized the need for experts with varied fields of expertise.
Raphael Azeredo, Brazil on behalf of GRULAC stressed that the Rotterdam Convention's Chemical Review Committee could be a good model for the POPRC. South Africa asked that the POPRC function in all six UN languages.

Afternoon Plenary Session
COP President Arana (second from left) opened the afternoon pleanary session.
Delegate from Jordan. Oman presented nominations for Bureau members from the Asia-Pacific Group. Nik Kiddle, New Zealand, nominated Canada as co-chair of the legal working group.
Delegation from Brazil. Delegate from Nigeria.
The COW continued its work in the afternoon under the direction of Chair Hyman.
Jacob Williams, World Health Organization, urged delegates to consider how to support work in 2005 and 2006 towards completing the report on the evaulation of the need for DDT for 2007. Chair Mark Hyman, Australia, noted that the decisions on DDT involve the reconciliation of two objectives: control of malaria vectors and the need to move towards phase out of DDT. South Africa called for the improvement of the DDT reporting questionnaire.
Robert Donkers, European Commission, said that the EU is making efforts to support the eradication of malaria. Tanzania, said that much of the information required by the DDT reporting questionnaire is not available in developing countries. Lois Nakmai, Department of Environment and Conservation, Papua New Guinea.
David J. Atkinson, Director, Chemical Policy, Australian Government. Yue Ruisheng, Deputy Director General, State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).

Contact Group
The Contact Group on the POPs Review Committee, chaired by Ibrahima Sow, Senegal (third from left), convened in the afternoon, reaching agreement on size and membership.
Fatouma Ouane, Secretariat, confers with Chair Sow in the POPRC Contact Group. Fatouma Ouane, Secretariat, provided clarifications on the Rotterdam Convention's Chemical Review Committee.

Miscellaneous photos
Reinaldo Gargano, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Uruguay, talks to the press. Inuit statue presented at INC-1 representing a mother with a baby in arms, which served to remind participants of the health effects of POPs and the importance of their work. It has since sat on the dais at every POPs meeting.
ENB writers: (From left to right) Paula Barrios (Colombia) and Catherine Ganzleben (United Kingdom).

Relevant Links

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) website
Information about the meeting
Meeting Documents
ENB Summary report of the Rotterdam Convention  COP-1 and PIC INC-11 (HTML, PDF, TEXT)
ENB Summary report of the Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (HTML, PDF, TEXT)
ENB Summary report of the Seventh Meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs INC-7): English (HTML, PDF, TEXT) French (HTML, PDF, TEXT)
ENB Coverage of meetings on Chemicals Management


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