Summary
The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conferences of the Parties (COPs) continued Thursday, meeting jointly in the morning to hear reports from contact groups and to adopt a decision “From science to action.” The Basel Convention COP met to adopt decisions in the morning, followed by the Rotterdam Convention COP’s discussion of compliance, which continued in the late afternoon. The budget contact group met throughout the day. Contact groups on technical assistance and financial resources, and Stockholm Convention compliance also met.
The High-Level Segment convened in the afternoon, starting with a ceremony to recognize the seven countries that recently ratified the Ban Amendment. In speeches that followed, several highlighted the need for cooperation to realize a detoxified future.
Side events during lunchtime were held on the ‘Internet plus’ sustaining Convention implementation; opportunities for collecting and sharing information on Severely Hazardous Pesticides Formulations; asbestos-related diseases in Asia and the need to improve the effectiveness of the Rotterdam Convention; and chrysotile asbestos and labor unions’ role in the sound management of chemicals.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided digital coverage, daily reports and a summary and analysis report from the 2017 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Morning Plenary
View of plenary from the dais
Niko Urho, Finland, Co-Chair of the Contact Group on Technical Assistance and Financial Resources
Silvija Kalniņš, Latvia, Co-Chair of the open-ended Contact Group to develop a way forward on enhancing effectiveness of the Rotterdam Convention
Nguyễn Anh Tuấn, Viet Nam, Co-Chair of the Contact Group on Synergies and Joint Issues
Dong Yao, China
Momodou Jama Suwareh, the Gambia
Juan Ignacio Simonelli, Argentina, Co-Chair of the Contact Group on Basel Convention Compliance
Negotiations among China, Canada, the EU and Argentina
Franz Perrez, Rotterdam Convention COP 8 President, speaks with delegates from Iran
Negotiations among the Russian Federation, Pakistan and India
Iftikhar-ul-Hassan Gilani, Pakistan
Mohsen Naziriasl, Iran
Sara Broomhall, Australia
Esmaylin Thomas Daniel Gomez Escobedo, Guatemala
Anil Kumar Rai, India
Jorge Álvarez Álvarez, Cuba
Khidir Gibril Musa, Sudan
lfredo José Perez Gonzalez, Venezuela
Fredrick Mupoti Sikabongo, Namibia
Lemnyuy Albun William Banye, Cameroon
Contact Groups
Budget Group
Contact Group on Stockholm Convention Compliance
High-Level Segment
The High-Level Segment is opened with Swiss music
Panel during the High-Level Segment (L-R): Bill Murray, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention - Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO); Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, BRS Conventions; Kate Gilmore, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights; Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN Environment; Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland; Naoko Ishii, CEO, Global Environment Facility (GEF); Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General, Climate and Natural Resources, FAO; Mohammed Khashashneh, Basel Convention COP 13 President; Franz Perrez, Rotterdam Convention COP 8 President; and Sam Adu-Kumi, Stockholm Convention COP 8 President
Tuti Mintarsih, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia
Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland
Sam Adu-Kumi, Stockholm Convention COP 8 President
Naoko Ishii, CEO, GEF
Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN Environment
Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General, Climate and Natural Resources, FAO
Kate Gilmore, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
Delegates from Ecuador with Minister of Environment Walter Garcia (second from left)
Jesús Castillo, Vice Minister, Ministry of Popular Power for Eco-Socialism and Water, Venezuela
Siaosi Sovaleni, Deputy Prime Minister, Tonga
Anne Désirée Ouloto, Minister of Urban Safety and Sanitation, Côte d'Ivoire
Delegates from South Africa with Barbara Thomson, Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs, South Africa (second from front right)
Afternoon Plenary
COP Presidents and BRS Secretariat consult at the beginning of the afternoon plenary
Marc D'Iorio, Canada
Angela Patricia Rivera Galvis, Colombia
Reginald Hernaus, EU
Osvaldo Patricio Álvarez Pérez, Chile
Felix Wertli, Switzerland
Franz Perrez, Rotterdam Convention COP 8 President
Around the Venue
Security around the venue as the High-Level Segment begins
Delegates from the Republic of Korea
Delegates from Paraguay
Delegates from France
Delegates from Cameroon
Mohamed Gona Abdallah, Djibouti
Delegates from Iraq
Delegates from Cyprus
David Downie, UN Office in Nairobi (UNON) Report Writer and David Ogden, BRS Secretariat
Elizabeth Mrema, UN Environment
