Latin American and Caribbean Group

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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. 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

Highlights for Monday, 29 April 2019 Delegates gather for the start of the BRS COPs The fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Basel Convention (BC COP14), the ninth meeting of the COP to the Rotterdam Convention (RC COP9), and the ninth meeting of the COP to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP9) opened in Geneva, Switzerland. Meeting jointly in plenary in the morning and early afternoon, the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm (BRS) COPs adopted the agendas and organization of work for each COP, and initiated discussions on technical assistance and financial resources under the Basel and Rotterdam Conventions, and financial resources and mechanisms under the Stockholm Convention.Regional groups used their opening statements to call for urgent action on emerging issues, such as marine plastic litter and microplastics, as well as longstanding challenges ranging from management of legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to the establishment of compliance mechanisms under the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. In the discussion of technical assistance, many delegates underscored the importance of regional centres in supporting parties’ implementation of the Basel and Stockholm Conventions through capacity building. Several called for additional resources to deal with issues such as existing and new POPs, marine litter, and plastic waste, and noted that technical assistance is closely linked to compliance.In the afternoon, the Stockholm Convention COP convened to begin discussions of listing of chemicals in Annex A (elimination), B (reduction) and/or C (unintentional releases). After brief discussions, delegates decided to list the pesticide dicofol in Annex A of the Convention with no exemptions for continued production or use. Delegates then considered the POPs Review Committee’s recommendation to list perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Annex A or B, and agreed to establish a contact group for further work on this issue.As the first day of the Triple COPs drew to a close, delegates celebrated what many characterized as an unexpectedly quick decision on dicofol, but also noted issues that were likely to be more challenging. Several pointed to the Rotterdam Convention's compliance mechanism and listing PFOA in the Stockholm Convention as particularly tricky, with several highlighting the need for technical assistance and financial resources to support parties’ work to implement the Conventions.For more details on the day's events and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our Earth Negotiations Bulletin. 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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Opening Plenary The BRS COPs opened with a traditional Swiss performance Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland Mohammed Khashashneh, Stockholm Convention COP9 President Hans Dreyer, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, BRS Conventions Morning Plenary Mohammed Khashashneh, Stockholm Convention COP9 President; Osvaldo Álvarez-Pérez, Rotterdam Convention COP9 President; and Abraham Zivayi Matiza, Basel Convention COP14 President, open the discussions Natalia Rodriguez Pacheco, Bolivia, speaking on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) Serge Molly Allo'o Allo'o, Gabon, speaking on behalf of the African Group Heidar Ali Balouji, Iran, speaking on behalf of Asia-Pacific Flavius Ardelean Motoc, EU Rolando Pinzon, Panama Pralong Dumrongthai, Thailand Elham Refaat Abdel Aziz, Egypt Keima Gardiner, Trinidad and Tobago Ana Berejiani, Georgia Zaigham Abbas, Pakistan Chizuru Aoki, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Afternoon Plenary View of the dais during the afternoon plenary Roxanne Blesam, Palau Luis Vayas, Ecuador Yaser Khalil Abu Shanab, Palestine S L Dhammika Wijayasinghe, Sri Lanka Charles Ikeah, Nigeria Nazem Thlaj, Syria Xuezhi Xiao, China María Florencia Grimalt, Argentina Obed Baloyi, South Africa Mariann Lloyd-Smith, International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) Siqiniq Maupin, speaking on behalf of Alaska Community Action on Toxics, International Indian Treaty Council, and Native Movement Mick Tisbury, speaking on behalf of Australian, New Zealand, and North American firefighters Delegates applaud the decision to list dicofol in Annex A of the SC without exemption Evening Reception hosted by Switzerland View of the dais during the opening session Felix Wertli, Switzerland Hans Dreyer, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention, FAO Around the Venue (L-R): Hans Dreyer, Executive Secretary, Rotterdam Convention, FAO; Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, BRS Conventions; Mohammed Khashashneh, Stockholm Convention COP9 President; Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland; Felix Wertli, Switzerland; and Carlos Martin-Novella, BRS Deputy Executive Secretary Delegates from Uganda Delegates from Costa Rica Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, BRS Conventions, speaks with Mohammed Khashashneh, Stockholm Convention COP9 President Delegates from the Pacific region David Ogden, BRS Secretariat Delegates speak informally Delegates between sessions Materials on display