Latin American and Caribbean Group

Highlights for Thursday, 4 April 2019 Jacob Duer, Head of SAICM Secretariat, ICCM 5 President Gertrude Sahler, and Brenda Koekkoek, SAICM Secretariat The Third Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG3) of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) entered its final day of work at the Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Thursday, 4 April 2019. Plenary met briefly in the morning to hear reports back from the contact group considering recommendations to the fifth ICCM (ICCM5) scheduled for 2020 and the "Friends of the President" Group informally discussing the need for an enabling framework beyond 2020 and identifying gaps not filled by SAICM. It also considered a report on preparations for ICCM5, with Germany formally announcing it will host ICCM5 in Bonn 5-9 October 2020. Most of the day was devoted to two meetings of the contact group and a brief meeting of the Friends Group. The former focused on an initial discussion of competing proposals on financial aspects and preparation of a report for consideration by the third intersessional process (IP) meeting in October 2019. The latter reviewed a draft co-facilitators' summary of their discussions to present to plenary. When plenary reconvened in late afternoon, it heard reports back from the two groups, and decided to annex the report of contact group to the OEWG3 meeting report and to outline the Friend's oral summary in the meeting report. The delegates then reviewed and approved the meeting report and provided closing statements. ICCM5 President Sahler thanked all participants for their hard work and closed the meeting at 6:29 pm. Highlights of the day included: Discussions of competing ideas on financing the sound management of chemicals and waste, including mainstreaming the issue in national budgets and development plans, possible cost recovery options involving the private sector, and a possible new international fund on chemicals and waste; An announcement by the UK that it will host an expert meeting in August or September 2019 to prepare indicators on the sound management of chemicals and waste for consideration at ICCM5; Romania offered to host the fourth IP meeting in early 2020. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) meeting coverage, will provide daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from OEWG3. Photos by IISD/ENB | Ángeles Estrada Vigil For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Plenary Jacob Duer, Head of SAICM Secretariat; ICCM5 President Gertrud Sahler; Brenda Koekkoek, SAICM Secretariat; Szymon Domagalski, Poland; and Menoosh Azodi, SAICM Secretariat Said Ali Thaoubane, Comoros Sam Adu-Kumi, Ghana Chinese delegation Paula Barrios, UN report writer Brice Lalonde, French Water Academy Jules Christian Ndomo Tsala, Cameroon, and Laska Sophal, Cambodia Aiita Sarr Seck, Senegal Silvani Mng’anya, Agenda for Environment and Responsible Development Ihsan Wicaksono Nugroho, Indonesia, and Aditya Narayan Singh, India Mamed Alinejad, Mehdi Aligol, and Heidar Ali Balouji, Iran A view of the plenary during morning plenary Sulaiman Al-Shukaili, Oman John Mambo, Kenya Cesar Manuel Llanos Puga, Peru, and Ovidio Perez Espinoza, Paraguay Janá Tatum, and Karissa Taylor Kovner, United States Nana Janashia, Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) Ram Charitra Sah, Center for Public Health and Environmental Development (CEPHED), Nepal, and Sanjeev Baghat, Lok Kalyan Seva Kendra, India Halshka Graczyk and Manal Azzi, International Labour Organization (ILO) Delegates consulting Contact Group Sam Adu-Kumi, Ghana Brenda Koekkoek, SAICM Secretariat Delegates during contact group Laura Nazef, Karissa Taylor Kovner, and Keri Holland, United States Delegates from Argentina Closing Plenary Jacob Duer, Head of SAICM Secretariat; ICCM5 President Gertrud Sahler and Brenda Koekkoek, SAICM Secretariat Jacob Duer, Head of SAICM Secretariat ICCM5 President Gertrud Sahler Szymon Domagalski, Poland Georgiana Dumitru, and Claudia Dumitru, Romania View of the plenary during the closing Anastasia Swaeringen, and Willem Van Lanschot, International Chemical Trade Association Jonathas De Mello, SAICM Secretariat Around the Venue SAICM Secretariat Management and Staff with ICCM 5 President Gertrude Sahler Stakeholders of the Group of Latin America and Carribean Countries (GRULAC) SAICM Secretariat with IISD RS Team

Highlights for Wednesday, 3 April 2019 UN Environment Programme (UNEP) awards certificate of recognition to countries committed to eliminating lead paint through joining the SAICM GEF Project. The Third Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG3) of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) entered its second day of work at the Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Wednesday, 3 April 2019. Plenary was held throughout the day, addressing: progress reports on achieving the 2020 goal of the sound management of chemicals; updates concerning SAICM's emerging policy issues (EPIs) and other issues of concern, which include: lead in paint; chemicals in products; hazardous substances within the life cycle of electrical and electronic products; nanotechnologies and manufactured nanomaterials; endocrine-disrupting chemicals; environmentally persistent pharmaceutical pollutants; perfluorinated chemicals; and highly hazardous pesticides; the implementation of the strategy to engage the health sector; issues regarding the financing of the Strategic Approach; and planned activities and draft budget of the SAICM Secretariat for the period 2019-2020.  Meeting in parallel were a Contact Group and an informal "Friends of the President" Group.  The Contact Group is considering the paper by the Co-Chairs of the Intersessional Process on SAICM beyond 2020, as well as views expressed during plenary, to develop recommendations towards the fifth ICCM (ICCM5) scheduled for 2020. The President's Group is holding informal, closed discussions on the need for an enabling framework beyond 2020, and identifying gaps not filled by SAICM. Both groups are to report on their work to plenary on Thursday.Highlights of the day included: the indication by many that the Secretariat should not spend resources on a traditional progress report for the 2017-2019 period to present to ICCM5, but instead suggest to the third Intersessional Process meeting later this year options for alternative ways of reporting progress; the presentation of an EU discussion paper on the sound management of chemicals and waste beyond 2020, providing some concrete recommendations that build on the Co-Chairs' Paper; the submission of a discussion paper by the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC), supported by the African Group and many individual governments, on financial considerations, which includes a proposal to create an International Fund to implement the Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste; praise for the World Health Organization's Chemicals Road Map and Global Chemicals and Health Network, with many calling for other organizations in the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) to follow WHO's example in their sectors. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) meeting coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from OEWG3, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Ángeles Estrada Vigil For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Plenary Brenda Koekkoek, SAICM Secretariat Suzanne Leppinen, and Tracey Spack, Canada Ram Charitra Sah, CEPHED, Nepal Javier Souza Casadinho, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Latin America Participants during plenary Dais during plenary Juergen Helbig, European Union (EU) Judith Torres, Uruguay Bob Diderich, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Nana Janashia, Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) Mariana Mihalcea, and Claudia Dumitru, Romania Ana Boischio, World Health Organization (WHO) Felix Wertli, Switzerland Djatougbe Aziaka, Association WELFARE Halshka Graczyk, International Labor Organization (ILO) Cheryl Eugene St Romain, Saint Lucia Tim Kasten, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Patricia Cameron, and Ralph Ahrens, Friends of the Earth, Germany Jan Janiga, Slovakia, Ivan Djurickovic, Serbia, Aita Sarr Seck, Senegal Paula Barrios, UN report writer Carmen Ciganda, Uruguay Christine Fuell, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Bikash Chetry, Toxics Link Olubunmi Olusanya, Nigeria, and Ali Seydou Moussa, Niger Jordi Pon, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Contact Group Side Event Around the Venue

Highlights for Wednesday, 20 March 2019 Fernando Coimbra, Brazil The second Substantive Session of the Ad Hoc Open Ended Working Group was drawn to a close Wednesday with the adoption of a provisional agenda and dates for the third session, which will convene for three days from 20 to 22 May 2019. The three-day arrangement was agreed as part of a compromise after a series of exchanges on scheduling, taking into account the need to allow for adequate time for the OEWG to meet the demands of its mandate from the UN General Assembly (UNGA resolution 72/277). The Co-Chairs will also make themselves available for informal consultations on the preceding weekend.Co-Chairs Francisco Duarte Lopes, Portugal, and Amal Mudallali, Lebanon, will circulate elements of draft recommendations during the intersessional period, as delegations prepare to move to negotiations on a series of emergent recommendations to the UN General Assembly, possibly including a legal instrument, high level declaration, and other possible responses to gaps or challenges in international environmental law (IEL) and related instruments.In a non-exhaustive oral summary of points addressed during the second session, the Co-Chairs noted discussion on: A broad approach to gaps, understood as lacunae, deficiencies or challenges in IEL or related instruments; The interpretation, unequal application and lack of consistency in approaches to IEL principles; Different views on the nature of a new instrument, including the possibility of a legally or non-legally binding instrument; a high-level declaration; and/or a document from the UN General Assembly; Agreement on strengthening international environmental governance, following observations on a lack of system coherence, implementation challenges, and a failure to adequately reflect the interdependent nature of the earth’s ecosystems; and The need to address and strengthen the roles of UNEP and UNEA in line with paragraphs 88 and 89 of the Rio+20 outcomes document, in the context of strengthening international environmental governance and IEL on a system-wide basis across the UN system. Delegations were invited to submit further recommendations to the Co-Chairs by 12 April.The day began with a moment of silence to mark the passing of Ambassador Brenda Muntemba of Zambia, who died in a road traffic accident, and a tribute to three UN interpreters who lost their lives in the Ethiopian Airlines crash in the run-up to the meeting.Mudallali then thanked the OEWG for their hard work before Duarte gavelled the close of the meeting at 16.04. For more details, read our summary and analysis of the second Substantive Session of the Ad Hoc Open Ended Working Group. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from the 2nd Substantive Session of the Ad Hoc Open Ended Working Group Towards a Global Pact for the Environment. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Tumasie Blair, Antigua and Barbuda Co-Chair Francisco António Duarte Lopes, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Portugal Co-Chair Amal Mudallali, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lebanon Jamil Ahmad, UNEP Maribe Mujinga Nsompo, Democratic Republic of the Congo Alejandro Garofali and Marcelo Cousillas, Uruguay Jamil Ahmad, UNEP, with Peter Doran, IISD Reporting Services (IISD-RS) Patrick Luna, Brazil, and Co-Chair Francisco António Duarte Lopes, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Portugal From L-R: Co-Chair Francisco António Duarte Lopes, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Portugal; Co-Chair Amal Mudallali, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lebanon; Jamil Ahmad, UNEP; and Fernando Coimbra, Brazil From L-R: Nathan Glassey, New Zealand; Trevor Analo, Australia; and Vigen Ananyan, Armenia Helge Elisabeth Zeitler and Sebastian Gil, European Union Alexandros Kolliopoulos, Greece, with Thomas Liébault, France Jamil Ahmad, UNEP, with Co-Chair Francisco António Duarte Lopes, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Portugal Abdullah Tawlah, Saudi Arabia Songelael Shilla, Tanzania View of the dais during the session Suzan Moh'd Al Ajjawi, Bahrain Shannon-Marie Soni, Canada Jin Sun, China Meriem El Hilali, Morocco Camila Zepeda Lizama, Mexico Jacqueline Ruesga, Canada Carmen Marques Ruiz, European Commission Participants conferring before the session Aldo Claure Banegas, Bolivia Esther Nkomo, Zambia Camila Zepeda Lizama and Erasmo Martínez, Mexico Alphonce Muia, Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa (CYNESA), with Isis Gondola, Panama Nassira Rheyati, Morocco, and Mariline Diara, Senegal Natalie Jones, IISD-RS, with Jacqueline Ruesga, Canada The Mexican delegation. From L-R: Lino Santacruz Moctezuma, Azucena Sahagun, Camila Zepeda Lizama, and Erasmo Martínez Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt, and Andrés Cordova, Ecuador Delegates conferring during the session Delegates conferring a break Laura Bullon-Cassis and Natalie Jones, IISD-RS, with Marco Crugnola, Switzerland Marta Juárez Ruiz, Costa Rica Delegates from the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) Around the Venue