prop · GP0379 · 2002-01-17 00:00:00 — Någraförfattningsändringar bedöms inte som nödvändiga i denna del.Konventionen innehåller även bestämmelser om att parterna skall utse ennationell myndighet för utbyte av information i frågor som behandlas ikonventionen, om rapportering till sekretariatet om vilka åtgärder som vidtagits för att genomföra konventionen och om tillhandahållande av statistikuppgifter.För att uppfylla dessa förpliktelser kan vissa förordningsändringar behövas.Sveriges tillträde till bedöms inte medföra någrasamhällsekonomiska merkostnader jämfört med i dag.Stockholmskonventionen om långlivade organiska föroreningarSTOCKHOLM CONVENTION ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTSThe Parties to this Convention,Recognizing that persistent organic pollutants possess toxic properties, resistdegradation, bioaccumulate and are transported, through air, water and migratory species, across international boundaries and deposited far from their place ofrelease, where they accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems,Aware of the health concerns, especially in developing countries, resulting from local exposure to persistent organic pollutants, in particular impacts uponwomen and, through them, upon future generations,Acknowledging that the Arctic ecosystems and indigenous communities areparticularly at risk because of the biomagnification of persistent organicpollutants and that contamination of their traditional foods is a public healthissue,Conscious of the need for global action on persistent organic pollutants,Mindful of decision 19/13 C of 7 February 1997 of to initiate international action to protect human health and the environment through measures which will reduce and/oreliminate emissions and discharges of persistent organic pollutants,Recalling the pertinent provisions of the relevant international environmentalconventions, especially the Convention on the Prior Informed ConsentProcedure for in International Trade, and the Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal including the regional agreements developed withinthe framework of its Article 11,Recalling also the pertinent provisions of the and ,Acknowledging that precaution underlies the concerns of all the Parties and isembedded within this Convention,Recognizing that this Convention and other international agreements in the field of trade and the environment are mutually supportive,Reaffirming that States have, in accordance with the Charter of the UnitedNations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploittheir own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmentalpolicies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within theirjurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other Statesor of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction,Taking into account the circumstances and particular requirements of developingcountries, in particular the least developed among them, and countries witheconomies in transition, especially the need to strengthen their nationalcapabilities for the management of chemicals, including through the transfer oftechnology, the provision of financial and technical assistance and thepromotion of cooperation among the Parties,Taking full account of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Developmentof Developing States, adopted in on 6 1994,Noting the respective capabilities of developed and developing countries, aswell as the common but differentiated responsibilities of States as set forth in Principle 7 of the and Development,Recognizing the important contribution that the private sector andnon-governmental organizations can make to achieving the reduction and/orelimination of emissions and discharges of persistent organic pollutants,Underlining the importance of manufacturers of persistent organic pollutantstaking responsibility for reducing adverse effects caused by their products andfor providing information to users, Governments and the public on the hazardousproperties of those chemicals,Conscious of the need to take measures to prevent adverse effects caused bypersistent organic pollutants at all stages of their life cycle,Reaffirming Principle 16 of the and Developmentwhich states that national authorities should endeavour to promote theinternalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments,taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bearthe cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and withoutdistorting international trade and investment,Encouraging Parties not having regulatory and assessment schemes for pesticidesand industrial chemicals to develop such schemes,Recognizing the importance of developing and using environmentally soundalternative processes and chemicals,Determined to protect human health and the environment from the harmful impactsof persistent organic pollutants,agreed as follows:Article 1ObjectiveMindful of the precautionary approach as set forth in Principle 15 of the RioDeclaration on Environment and Development, the objective of this Convention isto protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants.Article 2DefinitionsFor the purposes of this Convention:(a) "Party" means a State or regional economic integration organization that has consented to be bound by this Convention and for which the Convention is inforce;(b) "Regional economic integration organization" means an organizationconstituted by sovereign States of a given region to which its member Stateshave transferred competence in respect of matters governed by this Conventionand which has been duly authorized, in accordance with its internal procedures,to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to this Convention;(c) "Parties present and voting" means Parties present and casting anaffirmative or negative vote.Article 3Measures to reduce or eliminate releases from intentional production and use1. Each Party shall:(a) Prohibit and/or take the legal and administrative measures necessary toeliminate:(i) Its production and use of the chemicals listed in subject to theprovisions of that ; and(ii) Its import and export of the chemicals listed in in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2; and(b) Restrict its production and use of the chemicals listed in inaccordance with the provisions of that Annex.2. Each Party shall take measures to ensure:(a) That a chemical listed in or is imported only:(i) For the purpose of environmentally sound disposal as set forth in paragraph1 (d) of Article 6; or(ii) For a use or purpose which is permitted for that Party under orAnnex B;(b) That a chemical listed in for which any production or use specificexemption is in effect or a chemical listed in for which any productionor use specific exemption or acceptable purpose is in effect, taking intoaccount any relevant provisions in existing international prior informed consent instruments, is exported only:(i) For the purpose of environmentally sound disposal as set forth in paragraph1 (d) of Article 6;(ii) To a Party which is permitted to use that chemical under or AnnexB; or(iii) To a State not Party to this Convention which has provided an annualcertification to the exporting Party. Such certification shall specify theintended use of the chemical and include a statement that, with respect to thatchemical, the importing State is committed to: a. Protect human health and the environment by taking the necessary measuresto minimize or prevent releases; b. Comply with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 6; and c. Comply, where appropriate, with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Part IIof . The certification shall also include any appropriate supportingdocumentation, such as legislation, regulatory instruments, or administrative or policy guidelines. The exporting Party shall transmit the certification to the Secretariat within sixty days of receipt. (c) That a chemical listed in , for which production and use specificexemptions are no longer in effect for any Party, is not exported from it except for the purpose of environmentally sound disposal as set forth in paragraph 1(d) of Article 6;(d) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "State not Party to thisConvention" shall include, with respect to a particular chemical, a State orregional economic integration organization that has not agreed to be bound bythe Convention with respect to that chemical.3. Each Party that has one or more regulatory and assessment schemes for newpesticides or new industrial chemicals shall take measures to regulate with theaim of preventing the production and use of new pesticides or new industrialchemicals which, taking into consideration the criteria in paragraph 1 of AnnexD, exhibit the characteristics of persistent organic pollutants.4. Each Party that has one or more regulatory and assessment schemes forpesticides or industrial chemicals shall, where appropriate, take intoconsideration within these schemes the criteria in paragraph 1 of whenconducting assessments of pesticides or industrial chemicals currently in use.5. Except as otherwise provided in this Convention, paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to quantities of a chemical to be used for laboratory-scale research oras a reference standard.6. that has a specific exemption in accordance with or aspecific exemption or an acceptable purpose in accordance with shalltake appropriate measures to ensure that any production or use under suchexemption or purpose is carried out in a that prevents or minimizes human exposure and release into the environment. For exempted uses or acceptablepurposes that involve intentional release into the environment under conditionsof normal use, such release shall be to the minimum extent necessary, takinginto account any applicable standards and guidelines.Article 4Register of specific exemptions1. A Register is hereby established for the purpose of identifying the Partiesthat have specific exemptions listed in or . It shall notidentify Parties that make use of the provisions in or that maybe exercised by all Parties. The Register shall be maintained by theSecretariat and shall be available to the public.2. The Register shall include:(a) A list of the types of specific exemptions reproduced from and ;(b) A list of the Parties that have a specific exemption listed under or ; and(c) A list of the expiry dates for each registered specific exemption.3. may, on becoming a Party, by means of a notification in writing tothe Secretariat, register for one or more types of specific exemptions listed in or . Unless an earlier date is indicated in the Register by a Party, or anextension is granted pursuant to paragraph 7, all registrations of specificexemptions shall expire five years after the date of entry into force of thisConvention with respect to a particular chemical.5. At its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties shall decide upon itsreview process for the entries in the Register.6. Prior to a review of an entry in the Register, the Party concerned shallsubmit a report to the Secretariat justifying its continuing need forregistration of that exemption. The report shall be circulated by theSecretariat to all Parties. The review of a registration shall be carried outon the basis of all available information. Thereupon, the Conference of theParties may make such recommendations to the Party concerned as it deemsappropriate.7. The Conference of the Parties may, upon request from the Party concerned,decide to extend the expiry date of a specific exemption for a period of up tofive years. In making its decision, the Conference of the Parties shall takedue account of the special circumstances of the developing country Parties andParties with economies in transition.8. A Party may, at any time, withdraw an entry from the Register for a specificexemption upon written notification to the Secretariat. The withdrawal shalltake effect on the date specified in the notification.9. When there are no longer any Parties registered for a particular type ofspecific exemption, no new registrations may be made with respect to it.Article 5Measures to reduce or eliminate releases from unintentional productionEach Party shall at a minimum take the following measures to reduce the totalreleases derived from anthropogenic sources of each of the chemicals listed inAnnex C, with the goal of their continuing minimization and, where feasible,ultimate elimination:(a) Develop an action plan or, where appropriate, a regional or subregionalaction plan within two years of the date of entry into force of this Conventionfor it, and subsequently implement it as part of its implementation planspecified in Article 7, designed to identify, characterize and address therelease of the chemicals listed in and to facilitate implementation ofsubparagraphs (b) to (e). The action plan shall include the following elements: (i) An evaluation of current and projected releases, including thedevelopment and maintenance of source inventories and release estimates, takinginto consideration the source categories identified in ; (ii) An evaluation of the efficacy of the laws and policies of the Partyrelating to the management of such releases; (iii) Strategies to meet the obligations of this paragraph, taking intoaccount the evaluations in (i) and (ii); (iv) Steps to promote education and training with regard to, and awarenessof, those strategies;(v) A review every five years of those strategies and of their success inmeeting the obligations of this paragraph; such reviews shall be included inreports submitted pursuant to Article 15; (vi) A schedule for implementation of the action plan, including for thestrategies and measures identified therein;(b) Promote the application of available, feasible and practical measures thatcan expeditiously achieve a realistic and meaningful level of release reductionor source elimination;(c) Promote the development and, where it deems appropriate, require the use ofsubstitute or modified materials, products and processes to prevent theformation and release of the chemicals listed in , taking intoconsideration the general guidance on prevention and release reduction measuresin and guidelines to be adopted by decision of the Conference of theParties;(d) Promote and, in accordance with the implementation schedule of its actionplan, require the use of best available techniques for new sources within source categories which a Party has identified as warranting such action in its action plan, with a particular initial focus on source categories identified in PartII of . In any case, the requirement to use best available techniques for new sources in the categories listed in Part II of that be phasedin as soon as practicable but no later than four years after the entry intoforce of the Convention for that Party. For the identified categories, Partiesshall promote the use of best environmental practices. When applying bestavailable techniques and best environmental practices, Parties should take intoconsideration the general guidance on prevention and release reduction measuresin that and guidelines on best available techniques and best environmental practices to be adopted by decision of the Conference of the Parties;(e) Promote, in accordance with its action plan, the use of best availabletechniques and best environmental practices: (i) For existing sources, within the source categories listed in Part II ofAnnex C and within source categories such as those in Part III of that ;and (ii) For new sources, within source categories such as those listed in PartIII of which a Party has not addressed under subparagraph (d).When applying best available techniques and best environmental practices,Parties should take into consideration the general guidance on prevention andrelease reduction measures in and guidelines on best availabletechniques and best environmental practices to be adopted by decision of theConference of the Parties;(f) For the purposes of this paragraph and : (i) "Best available techniques" means the most effective and advanced stagein the development of activities and their methods of operation which indicatethe practical suitability of particular techniques for providing in principlethe basis for release limitations designed to prevent and, where that is notpracticable, generally to reduce releases of chemicals listed in Part I of and their impact on the environment as a whole. In this regard: (ii) "TechniquesAvailable" techniques means those techniques that are accessible tothe operator and that are developed on a scale that allows implementation in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viableconditions, taking into consideration the costs and advantages; and (iv) "Best" means most effective in achieving a high general level ofprotection of the environment as a whole; (v) "Best environmental practices" means the application of the mostappropriate combination of environmental control measures and strategies; (vi) "New source" means any source of which the construction or substantialmodification is commenced at least one year after the date of: a. Entry into force of this Convention for the Party concerned; or b. Entry into force for the Party concerned of an amendment to the source becomes subject to the provisions of this Convention only byvirtue of that amendment. (g) Release limit values or performance standards may be used by a Party tofulfill its commitments for best available techniques under this paragraph.Article 6Measures to reduce or eliminate releases from stockpiles and wastes1. In order to ensure that stockpiles consisting of or containing chemicalslisted either in or and wastes, including products and articlesupon becoming wastes, consisting of, containing or contaminated with a chemicallisted in , B or C, are managed in a protective of human healthand the environment, each Party shall:(a) Develop appropriate strategies for identifying: (i) Stockpiles consisting of or containing chemicals listed either in or ; and (ii) Products and articles in use and wastes consisting of, containing orcontaminated with a chemical listed in , B or C;(b) Identify, to the extent practicable, stockpiles consisting of or containingchemicals listed either in or on the basis of the strategiesreferred to in subparagraph (a);(c) Manage stockpiles, as appropriate, in a safe, efficient and environmentallysound . Stockpiles of chemicals listed either in or ,after they are no longer allowed to be used according to any specific exemptionspecified in or any specific exemption or acceptable purpose specifiedin , except stockpiles which are allowed to be exported according toparagraph 2 of Article 3, shall be deemed to be waste and shall be managed inaccordance with subparagraph (d);(d) Take appropriate measures so that such wastes, including products andarticles upon becoming wastes, are: (i) Handled, collected, transported and stored in an environmentally soundmanner; (ii) Disposed of in such a way that the persistent organic pollutant contentis destroyed or irreversibly transformed so that they do not exhibit thecharacteristics of persistent organic pollutants or otherwise disposed of in anenvironmentally sound when destruction or irreversible transformationdoes not represent the environmentally preferable option or the persistentorganic pollutant content is low, taking into account international rules,standards, and guidelines, including those that may be developed pursuant toparagraph 2, and relevant global and regional regimes governing the managementof hazardous wastes; (iii) Not permitted to be subjected to disposal operations that may lead torecovery, recycling, reclamation, direct reuse or alternative uses of persistent organic pollutants; and (iv) Not transported across international boundaries without taking intoaccount relevant international rules, standards and guidelines;(e) Endeavour to develop appropriate strategies for identifying sitescontaminated by chemicals listed in , B or C; if remediation of thosesites is undertaken it shall be performed in an environmentally sound manner.2. The Conference of the Parties shall cooperate closely with the appropriatebodies of the Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements ofHazardous Wastes and their Disposal to, inter alia:(a) Establish levels of destruction and irreversible transformation necessary to ensure that the characteristics of persistent organic pollutants as specifiedin paragraph 1 of are not exhibited;(b) Determine what they consider to be the methods that constituteenvironmentally sound disposal referred to above; and(c) Work to establish, as appropriate, the concentration levels of the chemicals listed in Annexes A, B and C in order to define the low persistent organicpollutant content referred to in paragraph 1 (d)(ii).Article 7Implementation plans1. Each Party shall:(a) Develop and endeavour to implement a plan for the implementation of itsobligations under this Convention;(b) Transmit its implementation plan to the Conference of the Parties within two years of the date on which this Convention enters into force for it; and(c) Review and update, as appropriate, its implementation plan on a periodicbasis and in a to be specified by a decision of the Conference of theParties.2. The Parties shall, where appropriate, cooperate directly or through global,regional and subregional organizations, and consult their national stakeholders, including women''''s groups and groups involved in the health of children, inorder to facilitate the development, implementation and updating of theirimplementation plans.3. The Parties shall endeavour to utilize and, where necessary, establish themeans to integrate national implementation plans for persistent organicpollutants in their sustainable development strategies where appropriate.Article 8Listing of chemicals in Annexes A, B and C1. A Party may submit a proposal to the Secretariat for listing a chemical inAnnexes A, B and/or C. The proposal shall contain the information specified inAnnex D. In developing a proposal, a Party may be assisted by other Partiesand/or by the Secretariat.2. The Secretariat shall verify whether the proposal contains the informationspecified in . If the Secretariat is satisfied that the proposalcontains the information so specified, it shall forward the proposal to thePersistent Committee.3. shall examine the proposal and apply the screening criteriaspecified in in a flexible and transparent way, taking all informationprovided into account in an integrative and balanced manner.4. If the Committee decides that:(a) It is satisfied that the screening criteria have been fulfilled, it shall,through the Secretariat, make the proposal and the evaluation of the Committeeavailable to all Parties and and invite them to submit the information specified in ; or(b) It is not satisfied that the screening criteria have been fulfilled, itshall, through the Secretariat, inform all Parties and and make theproposal and the evaluation of the Committee available to all Parties and theproposal shall be set aside.5. may resubmit a proposal to the Committee that has been set aside by the Committee pursuant to paragraph 4. The resubmission may include anyconcerns of the Party as well as a justification for additional consideration by the Committee. If, following this procedure, the Committee again sets theproposal aside, the Party may challenge the decision of the Committee and theConference of the Parties shall consider the matter at its next session. TheConference of the Parties may decide, based on the screening criteria in and taking into account the evaluation of the Committee and any additionalinformation provided by any Party or , that the proposal should proceed.6.