Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal

The 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal addresses concerns over the management, disposal, and transboundary movements of hazardous wastes produced worldwide. The guiding principles of the Convention are: the generation and transboundary movements of hazardous wastes should be reduced to a minimum; and hazardous wastes should be managed in an environmentally sound manner, treated, disposed of as close as possible to the source of generation, and minimized at the source.

The Basel Convention was adopted in 1989 and entered into force on 5 May 1992. It was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in response to public outcry following the discovery of toxic dumps in developing countries, especially in Africa, which contained hazardous waste imported from industrialized countries.