WORLD TRADE WT/CTE/W/59
3September 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-3551)
Original: English Committee onTrade andEnvironment
THE PROPOSED PRIOR INFORMED CONSENT (PIC) AND PERSISTENT
ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPS) CONVENTIONS
Communication from UNEP Chemicals (IRPTC)
I. DEVELOPMENT OFANINTERNATIONAL LEGALLY-BINDING INSTRUMENT ON
PRIOR INFORMED CONSENT (PIC) FOR CERTAIN HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS IN
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
A. Background
1. Thegrowth inworld trade inchemicals during the1960'sand1970'shasledtoincreasing
concerns about therisksofusing hazardous chemicals, oneexample being pesticides indeveloping
countries, which didnothavethenecessary expertise orinfrastructures toensure theirsafeuse.These
concerns ledtothedevelopment oftheInternational Code ofConduct ontheDistribution andUse
ofPesticides bytheUNFood andAgriculture Organization (FAO), andtheLondon Guidelines for
theExchange ofInformation onChemicals inInternational Trade byUNEP.
2. Both theCode ofConduct andtheLondon Guidelines include provisions aimed atmaking
information about hazardous chemicals more freely available, thuspermitting competent authorities
incountries toassess therisksassociated withuseofchemicals intheirowncountry. Thefirstprocedure
isinformation exchange onhazardous chemicals, which isexplained inacorresponding leaflet tothis
one.Thesecond procedure, known asPrior Informed Consent (PIC) wasadded in1989tohelpcontrol
imports ofunwanted chemicals thathavebeenbanned orseverely restricted.
3. Thevoluntary PICprocedure hasbeenunanimously accepted bymember countries ofFAO
andUNEP andissupported bytheleading chemical industry associations andavariety of
non-governmental organizations. There arecurrently 151countries which participate inthevoluntary
procedure.
B. What IsPrior Informed Consent (PIC)?
4. PICisaprocedure that:
(a) helpsparticipatingcountrieslearnmoreaboutthecharacteristicsofpotentiallyhazardous
chemicals thatmaybeshipped tothem;
(b) initiates adecision making process onthefuture import ofthese chemicals bythe
countries themselves; and
(c) facilitates thedissemination ofthisdecision toother countries.
5. ThePICprocedureisameansforformallyobtaininganddisseminatingthedecisionsofimporting
countries astowhether theywishtoreceive future shipments ofsuchchemicals. TheaimistopromoteWT/CTE/W/59
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ashared responsibility between exporting andimporting countries inprotecting human health andthe
environment from theharmful effects ofcertain hazardous chemicals being traded internationally.
PICisnotarecommendation tobanorseverely restrict theuseofchemicals.
C. Mandates fortheIntergovernmental Negotiating Committee
6. InNovember 1994, theFAO Council, atits107th Session, agreed thattheFAO Secretariat
should proceed withthepreparation ofadraft PICconvention aspartofthecurrent FAO/UNEP
Programme onPICandincooperation withother international andnon-governmental organisations
concerned. In1996, theFAOCouncil atits111th session, expressed itssatisfaction withtheprogress
onthePICnegotiations andthecooperation between UNEP andFAO.
7. InMay1995, theUNEP Governing Council, atits18thSession, authorised UNEP toprepare
forandconvene, together with FAO andinconsultation with Governments andother relevant
international organisations, anIntergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), withamandate to
prepare aninternational legally-binding instrument fortheapplication ofthePICprocedure forcertain
hazardous chemicals ininternational trade. Ultimately, adiplomatic conference forthepurpose of
adopting andsigning suchaninstrument should beconvened, preferably notlaterthanearly 1997.
In1997, theUNEP Governing Council, atits19thSession, confirmed themandate oftheINCand
invited ittocontinue itswork withanaimtoconclude negotiations in1997.
D. Preparations forthePICConvention
8. The1stINCSession washeld11-15 March 1996inBrussels, andattended by194Delegates
from80Governments, theEuropean Commission andanumber ofUNOrgans, Specialised Agencies,
IGOs andNGOs.
9. The1stsession made rapid progress, agreed quickly ontherules ofprocedure fortheINC,
andcompleted apreliminary review ofadraftoutline ofthefuture agreement. Alsoaworking group
wasestablished tofurther clarify which groups ofchemicals maybeconsidered forinclusion under
thefuture agreement.
10. The2ndINCSession washeld16-20 September 1996attheUNEP Headquarters inNairobi,
Kenya, andattended by220Delegates from86Governments, theEuropean Commission andanumber
ofUNOrgans, Specialised Agencies, IGOs andNGOs.
11. Amajority ofdelegations supported alegally-binding instrument which follows closely the
existing, voluntary PICprocedure, butsome delegations were alsooftheopinion thatthescope of
theinstrument tobedeveloped should allow some flexibility, inorder toinclude thepossibility of
considering measures beyond theexisting PICprocedure. There waswideagreement that,while the
INChasmade substantial progress, many facets oftheinstrument needed further detailed consideration,
andaneedwasseenforatleastonefurther negotiating session before thefinalsession.
12. The3rdINCSession washeld26-30 May1997 inGeneva, andattended by261Delegates
from101Governments, theEuropean Commission andanumber ofUNOrgans, Specialised Agencies,
IGOs andNGOs.
13. TheCommittee decided tocontinue itswork asatthe2ndsession, making useofaTechnical
Working Group toconsider theviews andaddress policy issues expressed during thediscussion of
thearticles inPlenary andreport backtoPlenary. Therevised textwould thenbetransmitted tothe
Legal Drafting Group. BothPlenary andtheTechnical Working Group frequently convened informalWT/CTE/W/59
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contact groups todiscuss/resolve difficult issues andreport back with revised textforfurther
consideration.
14. Atthissession, theCommittee focused ontherespective obligations ofimporting andexporting
countries, andhowtoidentify thetypes ofchemicals toinclude intheagreement. Other issues were
thecriteria forselecting thespecific chemicals; therulesfornotifying exporters ofbanned orseverely
restricted chemicals andpesticides andhazardous pesticide formulations; thedesignation ofcompetent
national authorities; theuseofriskassessments; classification, packaging andlabelling requirements;
technical assistance; andfinancial mechanisms. Arevised draftconvention textwasdeveloped for
further consideration atthenextsession.
15. The4thINCSession willbeheld20-24 October 1997 attheFAO Headquarters inRome.
16. The5thINCSession isexpected tobeheldinJanuary 1998 inBrussels.
17. TheDiplomatic Conference withashortpreparatory INCsession isenvisaged tobeheldearly
in1998 inRotterdam, hosted bytheGovernment oftheNetherlands.
II. DEVELOPMENT OFANINTERNATIONAL LEGALLY-BINDING INSTRUMENT ON
PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPS)
A. Background
18. Recently,anumberofinternationalactivitieshavebeeninitiatedtoreduceandeliminateemissions
andreleasesofPersistentOrganicPollutants(POPs).POPsarechemicalsubstanceswhicharepersistent,
bioaccumulate andposeariskofcausing adverse effects tohuman health andtheenvironment. It
iswidely accepted thattheuseofsuchpersistent, bioaccumulating andtoxic substances cannot be
considered asustainable practice. However, fordifferent social andeconomic reasons suchsubstances
arestillinuseand/or released totheenvironment. Withtheevidence oflong-range transport ofthese
substances toregions where theyhavenever beenusedorproduced andtheconsequent threats they
posetotheenvironment ofthewhole globe, theinternational community hasnow,atseveral occasions
called forurgent global actions toreduce andeliminate releases ofthese chemicals.
B. Mandates fortheIntergovernmental Negotiating Committee
19. TheUNEP Governing Council, atitsnineteenth session inJanuary 1997, endorsed the
conclusionsandrecommendationsofIntergovernmentalForumonChemicalSafety(IFCS)andconcluded
thatinternational action, including aglobal legally-binding instrument, isrequired toreduce therisks
tohuman health andtheenvironment arising fromtherelease oftwelve specified POPs. TheGoverning
Council decided thatimmediate international action should beinitiated through measures which will
reduce and/or eliminate theemissions anddischarges ofthetwelve POPs, and,where appropriate,
eliminate production andsubsequently theremaining usesofthose POPs thatareintentionally produced.
Itrequested thatUNEP, together withrelevant international organizations, prepare forandconvene
byearly 1998 anintergovernmental negotiating committee (INC), withamandate toprepare an
international, legally-binding instrument forimplementing international action, initially beginning with
the12specified POPs, taking intoaccount theconclusions andrecommendations ofIFCS. Italso
requested thatanexpert group beestablished under theINCtodevelop science-based criteria anda
procedure foridentifying additional POPs ascandidates forfuture international action. TheGoverning
Council further requested UNEP toinitiate immediate action involving development andsharing of
information; evaluation andmonitoring ofthesuccess ofimplemented strategies; alternatives toPOPs;WT/CTE/W/59
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identification andinventories ofPCBs; available destruction capacity; identification ofsources of
dioxins andfurans andaspects oftheirmanagement.
More information isavailable ontheINTERNET:
- Information onthepreparations forthePICinstrument andtheexisting, voluntary PIC
procedure, including meeting reports andthetextofthedraft convention, isavailable at
http://irptc.unep.ch/pic/
- Information onactivities regarding POPs isalsoavailable athttp://irptc.unep.ch/pops/