prop · GP0379 · 2002-01-17 00:00:00 — Where the Committee has decided that the screening criteria have beenfulfilled, or the Conference of the Parties has decided that the proposal should proceed, the Committee shall further review the proposal, taking into accountany relevant additional information received, and shall prepare a draft riskprofile in accordance with . It shall, through the Secretariat, makethat draft available to all Parties and , collect technical commentsfrom them and, taking those comments into account, complete the risk profile.7. If, on the basis of the risk profile conducted in accordance with ,the Committee decides:(a) That the chemical is likely as a result of its long-range environmentaltransport to lead to significant adverse human health and/or environmentaleffects such that global action is warranted, the proposal shall proceed. Lackof full scientific certainty shall not prevent the proposal from proceeding.The Committee shall, through the Secretariat, invite information from allParties and relating to the considerations specified in then prepare a risk management evaluation that includes an analysis ofpossible control measures for the chemical in accordance with that ; or(b) That the proposal should not proceed, it shall, through the Secretariat,make the risk profile available to all Parties and and set theproposal aside.8. For any proposal set aside pursuant to paragraph 7 (b), a Party may requestthe Conference of the Parties to consider instructing the Committee to inviteadditional information from the proposing Party and other Parties during aperiod not to exceed one year. After that period and on the basis of anyinformation received, the Committee shall reconsider the proposal pursuant toparagraph 6 with a priority to be decided by the Conference of the Parties. If, following this procedure, the Committee again sets the proposal aside, theParty may challenge the decision of the Committee and the Conference of theParties shall consider the matter at its next session. The Conference of theParties may decide, based on the risk profile prepared in accordance with AnnexE and taking into account the evaluation of the Committee and any additionalinformation provided by any Party or , that the proposal should proceed. If the Conference of the Parties decides that the proposal shall proceed, theCommittee shall then prepare the risk management evaluation.9. shall, based on the risk profile referred to in paragraph 6 and the risk management evaluation referred to in paragraph 7 (a) or paragraph 8,recommend whether the chemical should be considered by the Conference of theParties for listing in Annexes A, B and/or C. The Conference of the Parties,taking due account of the recommendations of the Committee, including anyscientific uncertainty, shall decide, in a precautionary , whether to list the chemical, and specify its related control measures, in Annexes A, B and/orC.Article 9Information exchange1. Each Party shall facilitate or undertake the exchange of information relevant to:(a) The reduction or elimination of the production, use and release ofpersistent organic pollutants; and(b) Alternatives to persistent organic pollutants, including informationrelating to their risks as well as to their economic and social costs.2. The Parties shall exchange the information referred to in paragraph 1directly or through the Secretariat.3. Each Party shall designate a national focal point for the exchange of suchinformation.4. The Secretariat shall serve as a clearing-house mechanism for information onpersistent organic pollutants, including information provided by Parties,intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations.5. For the purposes of this Convention, information on health and safety ofhumans and the environment shall not be regarded as confidential. Parties thatexchange other information pursuant to this Convention shall protect anyconfidential information as mutually agreed.Article 10Public information, awareness and education1. Each Party shall, within its capabilities, promote and facilitate:(a) Awareness among its policy and decision makers with regard to persistentorganic pollutants;(b) Provision to the public of all available information on persistent organicpollutants, taking into account paragraph 5 of Article 9;(c) Development and implementation, especially for women, children and the least educated, of educational and public awareness programmes on persistent organicpollutants, as well as on their health and environmental effects and on theiralternatives;(d) Public participation in addressing persistent organic pollutants and theirhealth and environmental effects and in developing adequate responses, including opportunities for providing input at the national level regardingimplementation of this Convention;(e) Training of workers, scientists, educators and technical and managerialpersonnel;(f) Development and exchange of educational and public awareness materials atthe national and international levels; and(g) Development and implementation of education and training programmes at thenational and international levels.2. Each Party shall, within its capabilities, ensure that the public has accessto the public information referred to in paragraph 1 and that the information is kept up-to-date.3. Each Party shall, within its capabilities, encourage industry andprofessional users to promote and facilitate the provision of the informationreferred to in paragraph 1 at the national level and, as appropriate,subregional, regional and global levels.4. In providing information on persistent organic pollutants and theiralternatives, Parties may use safety data sheets, reports, mass media and othermeans of communication, and may establish information centres at national andregional levels.5. Each Party shall give sympathetic consideration to developing mechanisms,such as pollutant release and transfer registers, for the collection anddissemination of information on estimates of the annual quantities of thechemicals listed in , B or C that are released or disposed of.Article 11Research, development and monitoring1. The Parties shall, within their capabilities, at the national andinternational levels, encourage and/or undertake appropriate research,development, monitoring and cooperation pertaining to persistent organicpollutants and, where relevant, to their alternatives and to candidatepersistent organic pollutants, including on their:(a) Sources and releases into the environment;(b) Presence, levels and trends in humans and the environment;(c) Environmental transport, fate and transformation;(d) Effects on human health and the environment;(e) Socio-economic and cultural impacts;(f) Release reduction and/or elimination; and(g) Harmonized methodologies for making inventories of generating sources andanalytical techniques for the measurement of releases.2. In undertaking action under paragraph 1, the Parties shall, within theircapabilities:(a) Support and further develop, as appropriate, international programmes,networks and organizations aimed at defining, conducting, assessing andfinancing research, data collection and monitoring, taking into account the need to minimize duplication of effort;(b) Support national and international efforts to strengthen national scientific and technical research capabilities, particularly in developing countries andcountries with economies in transition, and to promote access to, and theexchange of, data and analyses;(c) Take into account the concerns and needs, particularly in the field offinancial and technical resources, of developing countries and countries witheconomies in transition and cooperate in improving their capability toparticipate in the efforts referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b);(d) Undertake research work geared towards alleviating the effects of persistent organic pollutants on reproductive health;(e) Make the results of their research, development and monitoring activitiesreferred to in this paragraph accessible to the public on a timely and regularbasis; and(f) Encourage and/or undertake cooperation with regard to storage andmaintenance of information generated from research, development and monitoring.Article 12Technical assistance1. The Parties recognize that rendering of timely and appropriate technicalassistance in response to requests from developing country Parties and Partieswith economies in transition is essential to the successful implementation ofthis Convention.2. The Parties shall cooperate to provide timely and appropriate technicalassistance to developing country Parties and Parties with economies intransition, to assist them, taking into account their particular needs, todevelop and strengthen their capacity to implement their obligations under thisConvention.3. In this regard, technical assistance to be provided by developed countryParties, and other Parties in accordance with their capabilities, shall include, as appropriate and as mutually agreed, technical assistance forcapacity-building relating to implementation of the obligations under thisConvention. Further guidance in this regard shall be provided by the Conference of the Parties.4. The Parties shall establish, as appropriate, arrangements for the purpose ofproviding technical assistance and promoting the transfer of technology todeveloping country Parties and Parties with economies in transition relating tothe implementation of this Convention. These arrangements shall includeregional and subregional centres for capacity-building and transfer oftechnology to assist developing country Parties and Parties with economies intransition to fulfil their obligations under this Convention. Further guidancein this regard shall be provided by the Conference of the Parties.5. The Parties shall, in the context of this Article, take full account of thespecific needs and special situation of least developed countries and smallisland developing states in their actions with regard to technical assistance.Article 13Financial resources and mechanisms1. Each Party undertakes to provide, within its capabilities, financial supportand incentives in respect of those national activities that are intended toachieve the objective of this Convention in accordance with its national plans,priorities and programmes.2. The developed country Parties shall provide new and additional financialresources to enable developing country Parties and Parties with economies intransition to meet the agreed full incremental costs of implementing measureswhich fulfill their obligations under this Convention as agreed between arecipient Party and an entity participating in the mechanism described inparagraph 6. Other Parties may also on a voluntary basis and in accordance with their capabilities provide such financial resources.Contributions from other sources should also be encouraged. The implementationof these commitments shall take into account the need for adequacy,predictability, the timely flow of funds and the importance of burden sharingamong the contributing Parties.3. Developed country Parties, and other Parties in accordance with theircapabilities and in accordance with their national plans, priorities andprogrammes, may also provide and developing country Parties and Parties witheconomies in transition avail themselves of financial resources to assist intheir implementation of this Convention through other bilateral, regional andmultilateral sources or channels.4. The extent to which the developing country Parties will effectively implement their commitments under this Convention will depend on the effectiveimplementation by developed country Parties of their commitments under thisConvention relating to financial resources, technical assistance and technologytransfer. The fact that sustainable economic and social development anderadication of poverty are the first and overriding priorities of the developing country Parties will be taken fully into account, giving due consideration tothe need for the protection of human health and the environment.5. The Parties shall take full account of the specific needs and specialsituation of the least developed countries and the small developingstates in their actions with regard to funding.6. A mechanism for the provision of adequate and sustainable financial resources to developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition on agrant or concessional basis to assist in their implementation of the Conventionis hereby defined. The mechanism shall function under the authority, asappropriate, and guidance of, and be accountable to the Conference of theParties for the purposes of this Convention. Its operation shall be entrustedto one or more entities, including existing international entities, as may bedecided upon by the Conference of the Parties. The mechanism may also includeother entities providing multilateral, regional and bilateral financial andtechnical assistance. Contributions to the mechanism shall be additional toother financial transfers to developing country Parties and Parties witheconomies in transition as reflected in, and in accordance with, paragraph 2.7. Pursuant to the objectives of this Convention and paragraph 6, the Conference of the Parties shall at its first meeting adopt appropriate guidance to beprovided to the mechanism and shall agree with the entity or entitiesparticipating in the financial mechanism upon arrangements to give effectthereto. The guidance shall address, inter alia:(a) The determination of the policy, strategy and programme priorities, as wellas clear and detailed criteria and guidelines regarding eligibility for accessto and utilization of financial resources including monitoring and evaluation on a regular basis of such utilization;(b) The provision by the entity or entities of regular reports to the Conference of the Parties on adequacy and sustainability of funding for activitiesrelevant to the implementation of this Convention;(c) The promotion of multiple-source funding approaches, mechanisms andarrangements;(d) The modalities for the determination in a predictable and identifiablemanner of the amount of funding necessary and available for the implementationof this Convention, in mind that the phasing out of persistent organicpollutants might require sustained funding, and the conditions under which thatamount shall be periodically reviewed; and(e) The modalities for the provision to interested Parties of assistance withneeds assessment, information on available sources of funds and on fundingpatterns in order to facilitate coordination among them.8. The Conference of the Parties shall review, not later than its second meeting and thereafter on a regular basis, the effectiveness of the mechanismestablished under this Article, its ability to address the changing needs of the developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition, thecriteria and guidance referred to in paragraph 7, the level of funding as wellas the effectiveness of the performance of the institutional entities entrustedto operate the financial mechanism. It shall, based on such review, takeappropriate action, if necessary, to improve the effectiveness of the mechanism, including by means of recommendations and guidance on measures to ensureadequate and sustainable funding to meet the needs of the Parties.Article 14Interim financial arrangementsThe institutional structure of the Global Environment Facility, operated inaccordance with the Instrument for the of the Restructured GlobalEnvironment Facility, shall, on an interim basis, be the principal entityentrusted with the operations of the financial mechanism referred to in Article13, for the period between the date of entry into force of this Convention andthe first meeting of the Conference of the Parties, or until such time as theConference of the Parties decides which institutional structure will bedesignated in accordance with Article 13. The institutional structure of theGlobal Environment Facility should fulfill this function through operationalmeasures related specifically to persistent organic pollutants taking intoaccount that new arrangements for this area may be needed.Article 15Reporting1. Each Party shall report to the Conference of the Parties on the measures ithas taken to implement the provisions of this Convention and on theeffectiveness of such measures in meeting the objectives of the Convention.2. Each Party shall provide to the Secretariat:(a) Statistical data on its total quantities of production, import and export of each of the chemicals listed in and or a reasonable estimate of such data; and(b) To the extent practicable, a list of the States from which it has importedeach such substance and the States to which it has exported each such substance.3. Such reporting shall be at periodic intervals and in a format to be decidedby the Conference of the Parties at its first meeting.Article 16Effectiveness evaluation.1. Commencing four years after the date of entry into force of this Convention,and periodically thereafter at intervals to be decided by the Conference of theParties, the Conference shall evaluate the effectiveness of this Convention.2. In order to facilitate such evaluation, the Conference of the Parties shall,at its first meeting, initiate the of arrangements to provideitself with comparable monitoring data on the presence of the chemicals listedin Annexes A, B and C as well as their regional and global environmentaltransport. These arrangements:(a) Should be implemented by the Parties on a regional basis when appropriate,in accordance with their technical and financial capabilities, using existingmonitoring programmes and mechanisms to the extent possible and promotingharmonization of approaches;(b) be supplemented where necessary, taking into account the differencesbetween regions and their capabilities to implement monitoring activities; and(c) Shall include reports to the Conference of the Parties on the results of the monitoring activities on a regional and global basis at intervals to bespecified by the Conference of the Parties.3. The evaluation described in paragraph 1 shall be conducted on the basis ofavailable scientific, environmental, technical and economic information,including:(a) Reports and other monitoring information provided pursuant to paragraph 2;(b) National reports submitted pursuant to Article 15; and(c) Non-compliance information provided pursuant to the procedures establishedunder of the Parties shall, as soon as practicable, develop and approve procedures and institutional mechanisms for determining non-compliance with the provisions of this Convention and for the treatment of Parties found to be innon-compliance.Article 18Settlement of disputes1. Parties shall settle any dispute between them concerning the interpretationor application of this Convention through negotiation or other peaceful means of their own choice.2. When ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the Convention, or at any time thereafter, a Party that is not a regional economic integrationorganization may declare in a written instrument submitted to the depositarythat, with respect to any dispute concerning the interpretation or applicationof the Convention, it recognizes one or both of the following means of disputesettlement as compulsory in relation to any Party accepting the same obligation:(a) Arbitration in accordance with procedures to be adopted by the Conference of the Parties in an annex as soon as practicable;(b) Submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice.3. A Party that is a regional economic integration organization may make adeclaration with like effect in relation to arbitration in accordance with theprocedure referred to in paragraph 2 (a).4. A declaration made pursuant to paragraph 2 or paragraph 3 shall remain inforce until it expires in accordance with its terms or until three months afterwritten notice of its revocation has been deposited with the depositary.5. The expiry of a declaration, a notice of revocation or a new declarationshall not in any way affect proceedings pending before an arbitral tribunal orthe International Court of unless the parties to the dispute otherwiseagree.6. If the parties to a dispute have not accepted the same or any procedurepursuant to paragraph 2, and if they have not been able to settle their disputewithin twelve months following notification by one party to another that adispute exists between them, the dispute shall be submitted to a conciliationcommission at the request of any party to the dispute. The conciliationcommission shall render a report with recommendations. Additional proceduresrelating to the conciliation commission shall be included in an annex to beadopted by the Conference of the Parties no later than at its second meeting.Article 19Conference of the Parties1. A Conference of the Parties is hereby established.2. The first meeting of the Conference of the Parties shall be convened by theExecutive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme no later than one year after the entry into force of this Convention. Thereafter, ordinarymeetings of the Conference of the Parties shall be held at regular intervals tobe decided by the Conference.3. 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 writtenrequest of any Party provided that it is supported by at least one third of theParties.4. The Conference of the Parties shall by consensus agree upon and adopt at itsfirst meeting rules of procedure and financial rules for itself and anysubsidiary bodies, as well as financial provisions governing the functioning ofthe Secretariat.5. The Conference of the Parties shall keep under continuous review andevaluation the implementation of this Convention. It shall perform thefunctions assigned to it by the Convention and, to this end, shall:(a) Establish, further to the requirements of paragraph 6, such subsidiarybodies as it considers necessary for the implementation of the Convention;(b) Cooperate, where appropriate, with competent international organizations and intergovernmental and non-governmental bodies; and(c) Regularly review all information made available to the Parties pursuant toArticle 15, including consideration of the effectiveness of paragraph 2 (b)(iii) of Article 3;(d) Consider and undertake any additional action that may be required for theachievement of the objectives of the Convention.6. The Conference of the Parties shall, at its first meeting, establish asubsidiary body to be called the Committeefor the purposes of performing the functions assigned to that Committee by thisConvention. In this regard:(a) The members of the Committee shall beappointed by the Conference of the Parties. Membership of the Committee shallconsist of government-designated experts in chemical assessment or management.The members of the Committee shall be appointed on the basis of equitablegeographical distribution;(b) The Conference of the Parties shall decide on the terms of reference,organization and operation of the Committee; and(c) shall make every effort to adopt its recommendations byconsensus. If all efforts at consensus have been exhausted, and no consensusreached, such recommendation shall as a last resort be adopted by a two-thirdsmajority vote of the members present and voting.7. The Conference of the Parties shall, at its third meeting, evaluate thecontinued need for the procedure contained in paragraph 2 (b) of Article 3,including consideration of its effectiveness.8. The United Nations, its specialized agencies and the , as well as any State not Party to this Convention, may berepresented at meetings of the Conference of the Parties as .