Text I/22

Adopted at the First Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (COP1), 4 December 1992, Piriapolis, Uruguay

Decision I/22, of the Basel Convention Conference of the Parties

The Conference,

Recalling the aims of the Basel Convention to reduce to a minimum the generation of hazardous wastes and other wastes, to ensure that whatever is produced is disposed of in an environmentally sound and efficient manner as close to the point of generation as possible, and to prevent the transboundary movement of such wastes if there is reason to believe that the wastes in question will not be managed in an environmentally sound manner,

Further recalling that, in the interest of protecting human health and the environment, the fourth ACP/EEC Convention of 15 December 1989 (Lomé IV) and the Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes within Africa of 30 January 1991, both of which prohibit transboundary movement of hazardous wastes to developing countries, and the former which required ACP States to prohibit the direct or indirect import of hazardous wastes into their territory from the European Community or from any other country,

Conscious that during the negotiations leading to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), developing countries called for the prohibition of hazardous waste shipments from industrialized to developing countries,

Recalling decision I/16 regarding the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes destined for recovery operations,

Reaffirming the obligations of all Parties, including industrialized countries, as provided for in the Convention, to prohibit the export of hazardous wastes and other wastes to Parties which have prohibited their import and to non-Parties,

1. Requests the industrialized countries to prohibit transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and other wastes for disposal to developing countries without prejudice to paragraph 2;

2. Notes that until the Conference of the Parties receives and acts upon the report of the Technical Working Group referred to in Decision I/16 and until appropriate measures are taken pursuant to paragraph 7 of Article 15, transboundary movements of hazardous and other wastes destined for recovery and recycling operations take place in accordance with the provisions of the Convention and in particular the requirement that the waste be handled in an environmentally sound manner;

3. Requests industrialized countries to inform the Secretariat of the Basel Convention of the measures undertaken in order to implement paragraph 1;

4. Further requests developing countries to prohibit the import of hazardous wastes from industrialized countries;

5. Also requests developing countries to inform the Secretariat of the Basel Convention of the measures undertaken in order to implement paragraph 4;

6. Requests the Secretariat of the Basel Convention to report to the Second Meeting of the Conference of the Parties on the information received pursuant to paragraphs 3 and 5 above.