Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1696587727598.pdf (Vanuatu)
M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 Budget line: M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 Reference Number: Special Programme/Third Round/Approved Project/13 Amount: US$ 250,000 Sub-programme: 5.
Chemicals and Waste Expected Accomplishment: 5 Output: a Title of the Approved Project: “Strengthening the national institutional capacity for chemicals and waste management in Vanuatu” Annex A – Project Document Part 1 – Implementation Plan Background The objective of the Project is to support country-driven institutional strengthening at the national level, in the context of an integrated approach to address the financing of the sound management of chemicals and wastes, taking into account the national development strategies, plans and priorities of each country, to increase sustainable public institutional capacity for the sound management of chemicals and wastes throughout their life cycle.
Institutional strengthening under the Special Programme will facilitate and enable the implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, the Minamata Convention and the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).
The first session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-1), in June 2014, in resolution 1/5 on Chemicals and Waste, further adopted the terms of reference for a Special Programme, to be funded by voluntary contributions, to support institutional strengthening at the national level to enhance the implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, the Minamata Convention on Mercury and the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).
The Special Programme is one of two complementary elements of dedicated external financing under the integrated approach, with the GEF being the other element.
The Special Programme is part of the sub-programme 5 on chemicals and wastes in UNEP’s Programme of Work, in particular Project 515.2 Special Programme to support institutional strengthening at the national level to enhance the implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, the Minamata Convention and the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).
It specifically addresses expected accomplishment (a) that countries increasingly have the necessary institutional capacity and policy instruments to manage chemicals and waste soundly including the implementation of related provisions in the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).
Following the third call for applications, the Government of Vanuatu submitted their application for funding from the Special Programme Trust Fund to strengthen their capacities for national implementation of chemicals and waste related international agreements.

The Executive Board of the Special Programme, at its fourth meeting held from 29 to 31 January 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland, approved the application submitted by Vanuatu.
Objective of the PCA The proposed project seeks to strengthen the institutional capacity in Vanuatu to implement sound chemicals and waste management in accordance with obligations under the Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Minamata Conventions.

The project will be implemented by the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation (DEPC), with strategic oversight provided by a National Chemicals Coordinating Committee.
A Project Management Unit staffed by a Project Manager and a part-time Project Assistant will be established under DEPC to coordinate the day-to-day implementation of the project.

Institutional capacity to implement the Conventions will be strengthened through:  development of a national chemicals profile for Vanuatu through a comprehensive situational analysis.
This will provide the data and information to establish a solid baseline and set priorities  development of a contemporary National Chemicals Management Policy and costed implementation plan, which will help to mainstream Vanuatu’s obligations under the Conventions into national implementation priorities M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005  reviewing and updating the national legislative framework for chemicals management to reduce overlap, close legislative loopholes, and strengthen national capacity for environmentally sound chemicals management  establishment of a centralised data management system for chemicals and wastes to enable updated data on chemicals and waste to be collected, stored, reported, and used for better decision- and policy-making strengthening the human technical capacity of relevant institutions through the provision of training to stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Conventions, as well as those involved in the life-cycle management of chemicals; and through the establishment of accredited and sustainable training programs that support implementation of the Conventions.
Vanuatu has just deposited its instruments of ratification through its Foreign Affairs Department to the convention secretariats.

It is awaiting the response from the secretariats.

As per the documents sent to the secretariats, the Director of Environmental Protection and Conservation (DEPC) is the Focal Point.

The DEPC has just recruited a national consultant to begin consultation activities for the Mercury Initial Assessment project.
The project will be carried out in line with the Project Description below, which is part of the application received from Vanuatu.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 1 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EACH PROPOSED MEASURE Proposed measure 1: Establish project implementation and governance arrangements This measure includes the following activities: (a) Establish Project Management Unit.
The Project Management Unit will be established within the first 3 months of project implementation.

The Unit will consist of a Project Manager and a Project Assistant.

The Project Manager will be recruited though an open application process and will be responsible for overall implementation and monitoring of project activities, and (internal and external) progress reporting.
The Project Assistant will be seconded (at no cost to the project) from existing staff in the National Ozone Unit of DEPC, to provide administrative and secretarial support to the Project Manager as required.

The Project Management Unit will be hosted within DEPC, which will provide supporting infrastructure and services including desks, phone, internet access, and electricity.

(b) Establish Project Steering Committee.


An interagency National Chemicals Coordinating Committee (NCCC) is expected to be established by the end of 2018 to provide support for implementation of the international conventions, including to coordinate the implementation of the Minamata Convention Initial Assessment.

The NCCC will serve as the Project Steering Committee for the Special Programme project.
The Project Steering Committee will comprise very senior representatives (Director level or higher) from various government departments with portfolio responsibility for environment, agriculture, health, education, finance, internal affairs, customs, labour; and representatives from established non- governmental organisations and the private sector with vested interests in chemicals management.
The Project Steering Committee will meet quarterly to provide project leadership and strategic oversight of project implementation.

This will include interrogating project progress and outputs, recommending corrective actions when necessary, and providing high-level support to mainstream project outcomes into government policies.
Proposed measure 2: Develop a National Chemicals Profile for Vanuatu A National Chemicals Profile will provide a comprehensive overview and assessment of the existing legal, institutional, administrative and technical infrastructure related to the sound life-cycle management of chemicals in Vanuatu.

It will not duplicate assessments that have been completed for the update of the Stockholm Convention National Implementation Plan, or the Minamata Initial Assessment.
It will help to identify national chemicals management priorities to be addressed to support implementation of the Conventions.

Priorities would include institutional and legislative reform, infrastructure development, data collection, and training and capacity development.

The national profile will also identify possible approaches to addressing the identified priority issues.
Proposed measure 3: Develop a National Chemicals Management Policy and costed implementation plan The chemicals management policy will outline the long-term national approach for the environmentally sound and sustainable life-cycle management of chemicals in line with Vanuatu’s obligations under the Conventions.
This may include, inter alia, a consistent national approach to assessment of new and existing chemicals, a licensing regime for chemical importation and management activities; non-regulatory approaches to chemicals management (e.g.

guidelines, voluntary chemical stewardship schemes); sustainable financing mechanisms to support end-of-life management of chemicals and associated wastes such as chemical containers; and approaches for the ongoing collection of data to meet national reporting obligations.
Proposed measure 4: Review and update the legislative framework for chemicals and waste management This measure will involve the identification and review of all national legislation pertaining to chemical importation and management activities with a view to identifying gaps and overlaps in the legislative framework (including outdated legislation), and legislative amendments necessary to fully implement the Conventions.
The legislative review report produced under this measure will make recommendations for reforming the legislative framework to support the National Chemicals Management Policy.

This may include recommendations to create, amend or repeal legislation.

The legislative review report will also be used to M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 prepare legislative drafting instructions and draft implementation materials such as guidelines and application forms.
The drafting instructions will be used by the State Law Office to develop draft legislation.

Proposed measure 5: Establish a centralised national database for chemicals and waste.

This measure includes the following activities: (a) Develop and implement a data collection and analysis plan.

Stakeholders from relevant sectors will be identified and brought together to develop and implement a data collection plan.
The plan will identify the data to be collected to meet reporting obligations under the relevant Conventions, and the persons responsible for its collection.

The data collection plan will build on information identified through the process to develop the National Chemicals Profile.

(b) Establish a national database for chemicals and waste-related data.
This activity will result in the development of a centralised chemicals and waste management database module, which will fit into the larger environmental information management system being developed under the UNDP/GEF project “Mainstreaming global environmental priorities into national policies and programmes” (GEF ID: 5655).

Relevant stakeholders will have access to the database to view data and to submit data to be uploaded into the database by the administrator which will be DEPC.
The scope of the database will include chemical inventories, waste recycling, disposal and export activities, details of contaminated sites; and capacity building activities.

Where possible, automatically-generated report templates that mirror convention reporting requirements will also be created to help with national reporting obligations.

The database will be populated with data collected during activity (a) above.
Proposed measure 6: Develop and deliver certified training programs in chemicals and waste management.

This activity will seek to establish short, focussed training programs on sound chemicals management at the Port Vila Vocational Training Centre, targeted to specific audiences (e.g.

school teachers, chemical importers, waste managers, etc).
An experienced training provider with practical Pacific islands experience in chemicals and hazardous wastes management will be contracted by the Project Management Unit to work with the Port Vila Vocational Training Centre to develop and deliver training modules in chemicals and hazardous wastes management.

Formal recognition and accreditation of the training programs will be sought from the Vanuatu Qualifications Authority.
The Special Programme project will provide financial support for at least two cohorts of trainees to complete the training.

Participants who successfully complete the training programmes will receive a ‘Certificate of Attainment’.

This will contribute to building trainees’ pride and confidence to put the training into practice.

DEPC has successfully developed a similar arrangement with the Port Vila Vocational Training Centre for development and delivery of training under the national ozone programme.
Training priorities will be identified through the National Chemicals Profile development process, but they will include key aspects of the chemicals management lifecycle including safe handling and use of chemicals, safe management of school laboratory chemicals, safe chemical storage, and end-of-life management.

As ensuring environmentally sound chemicals and wastes management is an underlying principle of the Conventions, this measure will ultimately support implementation of the Conventions in Vanuatu.
Proposed measure 7: Provide implementation and enforcement training for the Conventions.

Implementation training will involve the Convention focal points, staff who are responsible for implementing the Conventions and other key stakeholders.

It is anticipated that the relevant Convention Secretariats will be invited to deliver this training.

Enforcement training will be provided to customs officers, customs brokers, and enforcement agencies.
For customs officers, training will include detection and classification of chemicals and detection of illegal trade in chemicals and wastes, while customs brokers will be trained in accurate completion of trade paperwork.

Enforcement agencies trained will include those in the labour and environmental sectors responsible for enforcing safe handling, storage, use and disposal of chemicals.
It is proposed to seek assistance from the relevant Convention Secretariats and regional institutions (e.g Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme) to deliver aspects of national training in chemicals and wastes management relevant to their portfolios.
M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 2 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSOCIATED DOMESTIC MEASURES Domestic measure 1: Formalise Project Management Unit as a Chemicals Management Unit The Project Management Unit will become a permanent Chemicals Management Unit at the end of the Special Programme project.
A series of internal meetings within DEPC commenced in the second quarter of 2018 to discuss the reorganisation of the department to place greater focus and resources on chemicals and wastes management.

Over the course of the project implementation, the agreed organisational structure, and budget requirements will be put forward to the Public Service Commission for approval with the goal of securing the necessary approvals and budget before the end of the project.
Domestic measure 2: Continue to establish a National Chemicals Coordinating Committee (NCCC) An interagency NCCC is being established to provide support for implementation of the international conventions, including to coordinate the implementation of the Minamata Convention Initial Assessment.
The NCCC is expected to be established by the end of 2018 and relevant provisions will be made in the terms of reference of the NCCC to enable it to serve as the Project Steering Committee for the Special Programme project and for future chemicals projects.
The NCCC will comprise very senior representatives (Director level or higher) from various government departments with portfolio responsibility for environment, agriculture, health, education, finance, internal affairs, customs, labour; as well as stakeholders from private sector, non- governmental organisations, and civil society organisations with vested interests in chemicals management.
Domestic measure 3: Develop legislation for chemicals management based on drafting instructions produced by the project This domestic measure will involve development and enactment of updated and modernised chemicals management legislation based on the drafting instructions produced by the project.
DEPC will make submissions to the Development Committee of Officials (heads of departments) and the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) for the preparation of draft legislation (bills and/or draft regulations), which will be put through the process to become law.

Domestic measure 4: Designate chemicals and waste management as national training priorities Waste management is currently identified as a national training priority under the Vanuatu Government Scholarships Priority Framework 2018.
Training priorities under the framework are aligned with development priorities under the National Sustainable Development Plan 2016-2030 (NSDP).

Given that NSDP also priorities compliance with international conventions (Economy Pillar 2), and Vanuatu will be acceding to the Rotterdam and Basel Conventions, there is scope to add chemicals management to waste management as training priorities for the next few years.
The Government Scholarships Priority Framework is used to guide the scholarship allocation of the Government of Vanuatu, and donor partners.

3 DETAILED INFORMATION ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION The Project Steering Committee will meet quarterly to provide project leadership and strategic oversight of project implementation.
This will include interrogating project progress and outputs, recommending corrective actions when necessary, and providing high-level support to mainstream project outcomes into government policies.

The proposed membership of the Steering Committee is described in section 5.2 of this application.

The Project Management Unit will be accountable to the Project Steering Committee and be responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the project.
This will include implementation and monitoring of project activities; recruitment and supervision of national and international experts; liaising with internal and external stakeholders; ensuring the quality and timeliness of deliverables; keeping the project on track with respect to the timeline and budget; and reporting on project progress.
The project will be implemented in collaboration with several partners, who will also be members of the Project Steering Committee, including: - Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, fisheries and Biosecurity - Ministry of Health - Ministry of Education and Training - Ministry of Finance - Ministry of Internal Affairs - Department of Customs and Inland Revenue - Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Key stakeholders in chemical importation and waste management sector These implementation partners will support project implementation by providing relevant data and information, expert/specialist knowledge and other general support.
4 PROJECT ASSUMPTIONS 5 PROJECT GENDER CONSIDERATIONS / MAINSTREAMING 6 MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN AND FINANCIAL AUDIT* M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 Risk 1: Lack of government support from other government departments for project implementation Mitigation measure 1: Using the National Chemicals Coordinating Committee (to be developed under the domestic measure) as the Project Steering Committee will provide the mechanism for involvement of Government stakeholders and will help to ensure support for project implementation.
Individual Government departments will be informed of project developments through their representative on the Project Steering Committee.

Stakeholders will also be involved in the project from inception and be kept updated of project progress at regular intervals through a project newsletter.
Risk 2: Project implementation delays due to inefficient project management Mitigation measure 2: The Project Steering Committee will meet on a regular basis to review project progress, ensure coordination and agree on mitigation measures if needed.

The day-to-day operations of the Project Management Unit will also be supervised by DEPC with regular meetings to monitor project progress, resolve operational and administrative matters.
The following affirmative actions will be taken to integrate gender considerations into this project: 1.

Equal representation of women (including women advocacy groups/organisations and men on the Project Steering Committee where possible.

This will help to promote women’s engagement and leadership in national decision-making processes.

2.
2.

Collection of sex-disaggregated data on chemicals and waste management (proposed measure 2), and inclusion in the database for chemicals and wastes (proposed measure 4).

This data will improve understanding of the interrelationships between women and children and chemicals, which can ultimately be used to inform policies and awareness-raising programs.

3.

Gender considerations (e.g.


the role of women in chemicals management and the impact of chemicals on women) will be mainstreamed into the design of the national chemicals policy and related activities.

4.

Equal participation of women and men in capacity development programmes, including training-of-trainer programmes (proposed measure 5).

Training programmes will also include aspects on gender considerations.
This will help to build new capacity and promote further inclusion of gender equality perspectives in programs at the national level.

A national consultant with experience in monitoring and evaluation will be engaged to undertake the independent monitoring and evaluation of the project at the conclusion of the project.
A terminal evaluation of the project will also be conducted based on the following key evaluation factors: - Performance of the project against its defined objectives - Challenges affecting the project implementation and achievements - Performance against the Special Programme objective and strategic priorities - Success of the project in targeting beneficiaries - Stakeholders and sectoral involvement in project implementation - Sustainability of the project outcomes - Extent to which gender was mainstreamed - The contribution of the project to strengthening the national chemicals and waste management framework.
M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 7 PROJECT DESCRIPTION (LOG FRAME) 7.1 Overall project outcome Indicators Means of verification Institutional framework for environmentally sound management of chemicals and hazardous waste strengthened - Drafting instructions for creating legal framework for chemicals & waste available (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) - A chemicals & waste database established (Baseline: 0; Target: - Enacted legislation - Database inspection report - Published annual report 1) - Annual report on chemicals & waste (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) Performance targets (project milestones that show progress towards completing the project outputs and achieving the overall project outcome) Expected Milestone for each reporting period (annual) M1 Project implementation and governance arrangements established and operational M2: National Chemical Profile developed M3: National Chemicals Management Policy and costed implementation plan developed M4: Legislative framework for chemicals and waste management reviewed and updated M5: Centralised national database for chemicals and waste established and populated to support reporting to the Conventions M6: Certified training programs in chemicals and waste management developed and delivered M7: Implementation and enforcement training for the Conventions provided Month 3, Year 1 Month 10, Year 1 Month 4, Year 2 Month 5, Year 2 Month 9, Year 3 Month 11, Year 2 Month 10, Year 2 Month 3, Year 3 Month 9, Year 3 7.2 Project Activity/Output 1 Indicators Means of verification Project implementation and governance arrangements established and operational - Project Management Unit (PMU) established (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) - Project Steering Committee (PSC) established (Baseline: 0; - Employment contract for PMU staff; PMU meeting records Inception workshop report, including list of participants - Target: 1) - National inception workshop conducted (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) Project activity/output Milestones Expected Milestone for each reporting period (annual)
 M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 M1: Project Manager recruited Month 2, Year 1 M2: National Chemicals Coordinating Committee inducted as the Project Steering Committee and meets quarterly Month 1, Year 1 & Quarterly M3: National inception workshop conducted Month 3, Year 1 7.3 Project Activity/Output 2 Indicators Means of verification National Chemical Profile developed National Chemicals Profile Report (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) Published National Chemicals Profile Report Project activity/output Milestones M1: Terms of reference for National Chemical Profile completed and tender launched M2: Consulting team engaged to conduct assessments for National Chemical Profile M3: Draft National Chemicals Profile report prepared M4: Stakeholder consultations on draft National Chemicals Profile conducted M5: Final National Chemicals Profile report and stakeholder consultation report prepared M6: Final National Chemicals Profile published Expected Milestone for each reporting period (annual) Month 4, Year 1 Month 6, Year 1 Month 8, Year 1 Month 9, Year 1 Month 10, Year 1 Month 10, Year 1 7.4 Project Activity/Output 3 Indicators Means of verification National Chemicals Management Policy and costed implementation plan developed Project activity/output Milestones National Chemicals Management Policy and costed implementation plan (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) Published policy and implementation plan Expected Milestone for each reporting period (annual) M1: Terms of reference for National Chemicals Management Policy and implementation plan developed and tender launched Month 8, Year 1 M2: Consultant engaged to develop the National Chemicals Management Policy and implementation plan M3: Draft National Chemicals Management Policy and implementation plan developed Month 10, Year 1 Month 12, Year 1 M4: Stakeholder consultations on draft National Chemicals Management Policy conducted M5: Final National Chemicals Management Policy, and consultation report prepared M6: Final
 National Chemicals Management Policy submitted for endorsement through the government process Month 2, Year 2 Month 4, Year 2 Month 4, Year 2 M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 7.5 Project Activity/Output 4 Indicators Means of verification Review and update legislative framework for chemicals and waste management Project activity/output Milestones - Published legislative review report published (Baseline: 0; Published legislative review report Target: 1) - Drafting instructions (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) M1: Terms of reference for legislative review and drafting instructions completed, and tender launched M2: Consultant engaged to conduct legislative review and prepare drafting instructions (including implementation materials) M3: Draft legislative review and drafting instructions completed M4: Interagency consultation on legislative review conducted M5: Final legislative review and drafting instructions and consultation report completed M6: Drafting instructions with endorsements from stakeholder departments submitted to Council of Ministers Expected Milestone for each reporting period (annual) Month 11, Year 1 Month 2, Year 2 Month 5, Year 2 Month 6, Year 2 Month 8, Year 2 Month 9, Year 2 7.6 Project Activity/Output 5 Indicators Means of verification Establish and populate a centralised national database for chemicals and waste - Data collection and analysis plan prepared (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) - New dataset on chemicals and waste available (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) - Chemicals and waste database operational (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) - Data collection and analysis plan - Data collection report - Database inspection/interrogation report Project activity/output Milestones (a) Develop and implement a data collection and analysis plan Expected Milestone for each reporting period (annual) M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 M1: Data collection plan developed by stakeholders M2: Data collection plan implemented as per milestones indicated
 in the plan M3: National chemicals and waste database populated with collected data (b) Establish a national database for chemicals and waste-related data M4: Terms of reference for development of national database prepared and tender launched M5: Database development consultants engaged M6: Version of database made available for testing and review M7: Database testing and refinement completed and final database developed M8: Database installed and operational 7.7 Project Activity/Output 6 Indicators Establish and deliver certified training programs in chemicals and waste management at a national vocational training centre Project activity/output Milestones - Suite of certified training programs available (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) - Means of verification - Accredited course materials - M1: Training priorities identified (e.g.
from National Chemicals Profile) M2: Consultant contracted to develop training programs M3: Draft training modules developed M4: Draft training modules reviewed by independent consultant M5: Training modules finalised and certified M6: Trainees identified through careful nomination and selection processes Month 6, Year 2 Month 6, Year 3 Month 9, Year 3 Month 12, Year 1 Month 3, Year 2 Month 6, Year 2 Month 9, Year 2 Month 9, Year 2 Expected Milestone for each reporting period (annual) Month 4, Year 2 Month 4, Year 2 Month 7, Year 2 Month 9, Year 2 Month 11, Year 2 Month 2, Year 3 M7: Training programs delivered M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 Month 4, Year 3 Month 8.
Year 3 7.8 Project Activity/Output 7 Indicators Means of verification Stakeholders trained in chemicals and waste management to support implementation of the Conventions - Suite of certified training programs available (Baseline: 0; Target: 1) - Number of rounds of training (cohorts) delivered (Baseline: 0; Target: 2) - Number of persons trained (Baseline: 0; Target: 30) - Course materials - Trainees’ Certificates of Attainment - Training workshop report, including list of participants Project activity/output Milestones M1: Specific convention implementation training needs identified (from National Chemicals Profile development process) M2: MOU/Agreement for delivery of training signed with Convention Secretariats M3: Implementation and enforcement training delivered Expected Milestone for each reporting period (annual) Month 12, Year 1 Month 4, Year 2 Month 10, Year 2 M99/M1-32CML-000003/SB-007154.02.03.23/11218/14AC0005 8 PROJECT WORKPLAN Project Activities Lead responsibility Timeframe (by quarter – every 3 months) No.
Description 1.

Establish project implementation DEPC and governance arrangements 2.

Develop a National Chemicals DEPC Profile 3.

Develop a National Chemicals Management Policy and costed implementation plan 4. Review and update the legislative framework for chemicals and waste management DEPC DEPC 5.

Establish and populate a DEPC centralised national database for chemicals and waste 6.
Establish and deliver certified training programs in chemicals and waste management at a national vocational training centre DEPC & National Vocational Training Centre 7.

Train stakeholders in chemicals and waste management to support implementation of the Conventions DEPC & National Vocational Training Centre, Convention Secretariats