Title: The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.

Summary of Provisions:

This Convention requires that importing countries give 'prior informed consent' to imports of "pesticides and industrial chemicals that have been banned or severely restricted for health or environmental reasons". (http://irptc.unep.ch/pic/incs/dipcon/convsumm.htm). In order to allow effective prior informed consent to take place the convention works to facilitate information exchange and recognises the importance of providing technical assistance to developing states so that they have the capacity for such decision-making.

The Convention does not as such ban any chemicals but aims to promote awareness of the potential dangers so that individual countries can decide best how to deal with them. Certain chemicals such as narcotic drugs are excluded from the Convention but generally these are covered by other international agreements.

Summary of Development:

The Rotterdam Convention was created to formalise and make legally binding the voluntary United Nations Environment Program and Food and Agriculture Organisation's joint prior informed consent guidelines. These guidelines were developed to "monitor and control the trade" (http://irptc.unep.ch/pic/incs/dipcon/convsumm.htm) in hazardous chemicals with a particular concern that some chemicals banned in developed countries were still in use in developing countries.

Current Status:

The Convention was adopted and opened for signature in September 1998. It now has 78 states parties and entered into force on 24th February 2004.

Precursors:

1989 UNEP/FAO Prior Informed Consent For Certain Hazardous Chemicals in International Trade.
1987 UNEP London Guidelines for the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade.
1985 FAO International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides.

Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent

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Related Summaries on the Genomics Gateway Site:

Chemical Weapons Convention
The Australia Group

Page last updated 10th January 2005.

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