Joint Assembly of the Convention concluded between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union (ACP-EU) - Resolutions adopted on hazardous waste (ACP-EU/2102/97/fin.)

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Brussels from 17 to 20 March 1997,

A. whereas the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous waste and their disposal was adopted in 1989 as an international instrument to solve the global problem of hazardous waste generation and transboundary movements of such waste,

B. whereas the Basel Convention entered into force in 1992 and currently has over 100 contracting parties,

C. whereas, at the urging of the G-77, the EU Commission and other contracting parties of the Basel Convention, an amendment to the Convention prohibiting all exports of hazardous waste from OECD to non-OECD countries from January 1998, was adopted by consensus at the Third Conference of contracting parties in 1995,

D. whereas many other legal instruments, including the Lomé IV Convention, the Bamako Convention for Africa, the Barcelona Convention, the Central American Agreement, and the Walgani Treaty for the South Pacific region, also prohibit transboundary movements of hazardous waste,

E. having regard to the desire that all such instruments prohibiting hazardous waste exports from OECD to non-OECD countries be effectively implemented at the earliest opportunity,

F. whereas the European Union has amended its legislation (EEC/259/93) to incorporate the Basel Convention ban on such hazardous waste trade,

G. having regard to the fact that the amendment to the Basel Convention will need to be ratified by at least three quarters of the contracting parties which accepted it, in order for it to enter into legal force,

H. stressing the importance of regional and international co-operation in adequately addressing hazardous waste, through inter alia, the expedient entry into force of the Basel Convention amendment,

1. Calls on all ACP countries which have not yet done so, to take the necessary measures to accede to the Basel Convention as amended in 1995, as well as relevant regional treaties addressing hazardous waste, e.g., the Bamako Convention in Africa;

2. Reaffirms the need to prohibit all hazardous waste exports from the OECD to non-OECD countries as an important measure toward solving the hazardous waste crisis;

3. Applauds the consensus decision (decision III/1), adopted by the Third conference of Parties to the Basel Convention in 1995, to amend the Basel Convention to prohibit all hazardous waste exports form OECD to non-OECD countries as from 1 January 1998;

4. Stresses that the Basel Convention amendment does not permit bilateral or multilateral agreements as exceptions to the prohibited trade in hazardous wastes;

5. Opposes any weakening of the Basel amendment (and its rationale) through any other proposed exceptions which would have the effect of the allowing selected non-OECD countries to continue importing hazardous waste from OECD countries beyond the phase out date of 1 January 1998;

6. Calls on all ACP and European Union governments to take the necessary measures to ensure the amendment to the Basel Convention is ratified at the earliest opportunity with the view to its entry into force as soon as possible;

7. Urges all ACP and European Union governments, as well as all Basel Convention contracting parties to respect in good faith the amendment decision adopted by consensus to amend the Convention and to work actively for its effective implementation;

8. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council, to the Commission and the Basel Convention Secretariat.