Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

 

Article 15
Conference of the Parties

1. A Conference of the Parties is hereby established. The first meeting of
the Conference of the Parties shall be convened by the Executive Director
of UNEP not later than one year after the entry into force of this
Convention. Thereafter, ordinary meetings of the Conference of the Parties
shall be held at regular intervals to be determined by the Conference at
its first meeting.

2. Extraordinary meetings of the Conference of the Parties shall be held at
such other times as may be deemed necessary by the Conference, or at the
written request of any Party, provided that, within six months of the
request being communicated to them by the Secretariat, it is supported by
at least one third of the Parties.

3. The Conference of the Parties shall by consensus agree upon and adopt
rules of procedure for itself and for any subsidiary body it may establish,
as well as financial rules to determine in particular the financial
participation of the Parties under this Convention.

4. The Parties at their first meeting shall consider any additional
measures needed to assist them in fulfilling their responsibilities with
respect to the protection and the preservation of the marine environment in
the context of this Convention.

5. The Conference of the Parties shall keep under continuous review and
evaluation the effective implementation of this Convention, and, in
addition, shall:

(a) Promote the harmonization of appropriate policies, strategies and
measures for minimizing harm to human health and the environment by
hazardous wastes and other wastes;

(b) Consider and adopt, as required, amendments to this Convention and
its annexes, taking into consideration, inter alia, available scientific,
technical, economic and environmental information;

(c) Consider and undertake any additional action that may be required for
the achievement of the purposes of this Convention in the light of
experience gained in its operation and in the operation of the agreements
and arrangements envisaged in Article 11;

(d) Consider and adopt protocols as required; and

(e) Establish such subsidiary bodies as are deemed necessary for the
implementation of this Convention.

6. The United Nations, its specialized agencies, as well as any State not
party to this Convention, may be represented as observers at meetings of
the Conference of the Parties. Any other body or agency, whether national
or international, governmental or non-governmental, qualified in fields
relating to hazardous wastes or other wastes which has informed the
Secretariat of its wish to be represented as an observer at a meeting of
the Conference of the Parties, may be admitted unless at least one third of
the Parties present object. The admission and participation of observers
shall be subject to the rules of procedure adopted by the conference of the
Parties.

7. The Conference of the Parties shall undertake three years after the
entry into force of this Convention, and at least every six years
thereafter, an evaluation of its effectiveness and, if deemed necessary, to
consider the adoption of a complete or partial ban of transboundary
movements of hazardous wastes and other wastes in light of the latest
scientific, environmental, technical and economic information.

Article 16
Secretariat

1. The functions of the Secretariat shall be:

(a) To arrange for and service meetings provided for in Articles 15 and
17;

(b) To prepare and transmit reports based upon information received in
accordance with Articles 3, 4, 6, 11 and 13 as well as upon information
derived from meetings of subsidiary bodies established under Article 15 as
well as upon, as appropriate, information provided by relevant
intergovernmental and non-governmental entities;

(c) To prepare reports on its activities carried out in implementation of
its functions under this Convention and present them to the Conference of
the Parties;

(d) To ensure the necessary coordination with relevant international
bodies, and in particular to enter into such administrative and contractual
arrangements as may be required for the effective discharge of its
functions;

(e) To communicate with focal points and competent authorities
established by the Parties in accordance with Article 5 of this Convention;

(f) To compile information concerning authorized national sites and
facilities of Parties available for the disposal of their hazardous wastes
and other wastes and to circulate this information among Parties;

(g) To receive and convey information from and to Parties on;
— sources of technical assistance and training;
— available technical and scientific know-how;
— sources of advice and expertise; and
— availability of resources

with a view to assisting them, upon request, in such areas as:

— the handling of the notification system of this Convention;
— the management of hazardous wastes and other wastes;
— environmentally sound technologies relating to hazardous wastes and
other wastes, such as low- and non-waste technology;
— the assessment of disposal capabilities and sites;
— the monitoring of hazardous wastes and other wastes; and
— emergency responses;

(h) To provide Parties, upon request, with information on consultants or
consulting firms having the necessary technical competence in the field,
which can assist them to examine a notification for a transboundary
movement, the concurrence of a shipment of hazardous wastes or other wastes
with the relevant notification, and/or the fact that the proposed disposal
facilities for hazardous wastes or other wastes are environmentally sound,
when they have reason to believe that the wastes in question will not be
managed in an environmentally sound manner. Any such examination would not
be at the expense of the Secretariat;

(i) To assist Parties upon request in their identification of cases of
illegal traffic and to circulate immediately to the Parties concerned any
information it has received regarding illegal traffic;

(j) To co-operate with Parties and with relevant and competent
International Organizations and agencies in the provision of experts and
equipment for the purpose of rapid assistance to States in the event of an
emergency situation; and

(k) To perform such other functions relevant to the purposes of this
Convention as may be determined by the Conference of the Parties.

2. The secretariat functions will be carried out on an interim basis by
UNEP until the completion of the first meeting of the Conference of the
Parties held pursuant to Article 15.

3. At its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties shall designate the
Secretariat from among those existing competent intergovernmental
organizations which have signified their willingness to carry out the
secretariat functions under this Convention. At this meeting, the
Conference of the Parties shall also evaluate the implementation by the
interim Secretariat of the functions assigned to it, in particular under
paragraph 1 above, and decide upon the structures appropriate for those
functions.

Article 17
Amendment of the Convention

1. Any Party may propose amendments to this Convention and any Party to a
protocol may propose amendments to that protocol. Such amendments shall
take due account, inter alia, of relevant scientific and technical
considerations.

2. Amendments to this Convention shall be adopted at a meeting of the
Conference of the Parties. Amendments to any protocol shall be adopted at a
meeting of the Parties to the protocol in question. The text of any
proposed amendment to this Convention or to any protocol, except as may
otherwise be provided in such protocol, shall be communicated to the
Parties by the Secretariat at least six months before the meeting at which
it is proposed for adoption. The Secretariat shall also communicate
proposed amendments to the Signatories to this Convention for information.

3. The Parties shall make every effort to reach agreement on any proposed
amendment to this Convention by consensus. If all efforts at consensus have
been exhausted, and no agreement reached, the amendment shall as a last
resort be adopted by a three-fourths majority vote of the Parties present
and voting at the meeting, and shall be submitted by the Depositary to all
Parties for ratification, approval, formal confirmation or acceptance.

4. The procedure mentioned in paragraph 3 above shall apply to amendments
to any protocol, except that a two-thirds majority of the Parties to that
protocol present and voting at the meeting shall suffice for their
adoption.

5. Instruments of ratification, approval, formal confirmation or acceptance
of amendments shall be deposited with the Depositary. Amendments adopted in
accordance with paragraphs 3 or 4 above shall enter into force between
Parties having accepted them on the ninetieth day after the receipt by the
Depositary of their instrument of ratification, approval, formal
confirmation or acceptance by at least three-fourths of the Parties who
accepted the amendments to the protocol concerned, except as may otherwise
be provided in such protocol. The amendments shall enter into force for any
other Party on the ninetieth day after that Party deposits its instrument
of ratification, approval, formal confirmation or acceptance of the
amendments.

6. For the purpose of this Article, “Parties present and voting”means
Parties present and casting an affirmative or negative vote.

Article 18
Adoption and Amendment of Annexes

1. The annexes to this Convention or to any protocol shall form an integral
part of this Convention or of such protocol, as the case may be and, unless
expressly provided otherwise, a reference to this Convention or its
protocols constitutes at the same time a reference to any annexes thereto.
Such annexes shall be restricted to scientific, technical and
administrative matters.

2. Except as may be otherwise provided in any protocol with respect to its
annexes, the following procedure shall apply to the proposal, adoption and
entry into force of additional annexes to this Convention or of annexes to
a protocol:

(a) Annexes to this Convention and its protocols shall be proposed and
adopted according to the procedure laid down in Article 17, paragraphs 2, 3
and 4;

(b) Any Party that is unable to accept an additional annex to this
Convention or an annex to any protocol to which it is party shall so notify
the Depositary, in writing, within six months from the date of the
communication of the adoption by the Depositary. The Depositary shall
without delay notify all Parties of any such notification received. A Party
may at any time substitute an acceptance for a previous declaration of
objection and the annexes shall thereupon enter into force for that Party;

(c) On the expiry of six months from the date of the circulation of the
communication by the Depositary, the annex shall become effective for all
Parties to this Convention or to any protocol concerned, which have not
submitted a notification in accordance with the provision of subparagraph
(b) above.

3. The proposal, adoption and entry into force of amendments to annexes to
this Convention or to any protocol shall be subject to the same procedure
as for the proposal, adoption and entry into force of annexes to the
Convention or annexes to a protocol. Annexes and amendments thereto shall
take due account, inter alia, of relevant scientific and technical
considerations.

4. If an additional annex or an amendment to an annex involves an amendment
to this Convention or to any protocol, the additional annex or amended
annex shall not enter into force until such time as the amendment to this
Convention or to the protocol enters into force.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, International Organizations.