Welcome to the United Nations
The High Level Political Forum (HLPF) under the auspices of the General Assembly (“SDG Summit”) resulted in the adoption of a Political Declaration that proclaimed a decade for action and delivery for sustainable development and outlined ten crosscutting areas for accelerated action for the achievement of the SDGs. The General Assembly decided that the theme for the 2021 session of the HLPF and the Economic and Social Council will be “Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: building an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”.
The HLPF in 2021 will also discuss Sustainable Development Goals 1 on no poverty, 2 on zero hunger, 3 on good health and well-being, 8 on decent work and economic growth, 10 on reduced inequalities, 12 on responsible consumption and production, 13 on climate action, 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions, and 17 on partnerships in depth. The Forum will consider the integrated, indivisible and interlinked nature of the SDGs.
Input from the President of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention could showcase the views and guidance of your intergovernmental bodies on those aspects of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the various measures and types of international cooperation that can control the pandemic and its impacts and put the world back on track to achieve the SDGs by 2030, within the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development and highlight the views in line with the six areas below.
Introduction
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted on 22 March 1989 by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Basel, Switzerland, and entered into force in 1992. As at February 2021, it has 188 Parties and thus its coverage is global. The overarching objective of the Basel Convention is to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects that may result from the generation and management of hazardous and other wastes. Its scope of application covers a wide range of wastes defined as “hazardous wastes” based on their origin and/or composition and their characteristics or so defined by domestic legislation and notified to the Secretariat, as well as wastes defined as “other wastes” requiring special consideration - household waste and incinerator ash, certain plastic wastes.
The provisions of the Convention center around the following principal aims:
- the reduction of generation of hazardous and other wastes and the promotion of their environmentally sound management, wherever the place of disposal
- the restriction of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and other wastes to a minimum except where it is perceived to be in accordance with the principles of environmentally sound management; and
- a control system applying where transboundary movements are permissible.
The first aim is addressed through a number of general provisions requiring States to observe the fundamental principles of environmentally sound waste management (Article 4). A number of prohibitions are designed to attain the second aim: hazardous wastes and other wastes may not be exported to Antarctica, to a State not party to the Basel Convention, or to a Party having banned their import (Article 4). Parties may, however, enter into bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements regarding transboundary movement of hazardous or other wastes with Parties or non-Parties, provided that the provisions are “no less environmentally sound” than those of the Basel Convention (Article 11).
Parties are under an obligation to take the appropriate measures to ensure that transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and other wastes are only allowed if one of the three following conditions is met (Article 4 paragraph 9):
- the State of export does not have the technical capacity and the necessary facilities, capacity or suitable disposal sites to dispose of the wastes in question in an “environmentally sound manner”; or
- the wastes are needed as raw material for recycling or recovery industries in the State of import; or
- the movement is in accordance with other criteria decided by the Parties.
The control system for transboundary movements of wastes is the cornerstone of the Basel Convention. Based on the concept of prior informed consent, it requires that, before an export may take place, the authorities of the State of export notify the authorities of all the States concerned (prospective States of import and transit), providing them with detailed information on the intended movement. The movement may only proceed if and when all States concerned have given their written consent (Articles 6 and 7). The Basel Convention also requires cooperation between Parties, ranging from exchange of information on issues relevant to the implementation of the Convention to technical assistance, particularly to developing countries (Articles 10 and 13). The Secretariat is required to facilitate and support Parties, including acting as a clearing-house (Article 16). The Convention makes specific provisions for transboundary movements of hazardous wastes or other wastes that cannot be completed as foreseen and imposes a duty to re-import into the State of export (Article 8). Article 9 also makes specific provision for cases of illegal traffic and how these are to be taken back or otherwise disposed of.
The Convention also provides for the establishment of regional or sub-regional centres for training and technology transfer regarding the management of hazardous wastes and other wastes and the minimization of their generation to cater to the specific needs of different regions and subregions (Article 14).
Furthermore, Parties also have an obligation to minimize the quantities of wastes that are transported, to treat and dispose of wastes as close as possible to their place of generation and to prevent or minimize the generation of wastes at source. The Cartagena Declaration on the prevention, minimization and recovery of hazardous wastes and other wastes emphasized that prevention and minimization of hazardous wastes and other wastes at source is a critical stage of the waste management hierarchy and declared a commitment to enhancing the active promotion and implementation of more efficient strategies to achieve prevention and minimization of the generation of hazardous wastes and other wastes and their disposal.
