Report of the joint meeting of the bureaux of the conferences of the parties
to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions

Geneva, Switzerland, 3–4 November 2016

1. Opening of the meeting

  1. The bureaux of the conferences of the parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants met jointly on 3–4 November 2016 at the International Environment House, Geneva, Switzerland. The list of participants is contained in annex I to the present report.[1]
  1. Mr. Mohammed Oglah Hussein Khashashneh (Jordan), President of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, opened the meeting at 1:15 pm. Introductory remarks were given by Mr. Khashashneh, Mr. Franz Perrez (Switzerland), President of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention, Mr. Sam Adu-Kumi (Ghana,) President of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, Mr. Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions and Mr. Bill Murray, Executive Secretary of the Rotterdam Convention.
  1. Mr. Khashashnehthen explained that at their first joint meeting in March 2011, the bureaux had decided to rotate the chairmanship of joint bureaux meetings among the Presidents in alphabetical order of the names of the conventions, starting with the President of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention. He would thus chair the present fourth joint bureaux meeting.

2. Adoption of the agenda

  1. The agenda as adopted by the bureaux is contained in annex II to the present report.

3. Matters related to the organization of the 2017 meetings of the conferences of the parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions

(a)Organization of work of the back to back meetings

  1. For this agenda sub-item, the bureaux had before them arevised draft tentative schedule of work of the meetings of the conferences of the parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions in 2017 (document 2).
  1. The Secretariat introduced the document, summarizing the comments received on an earlier version of the schedule during the three individual bureaux meetings in June and July 2016. As suggested by the bureaux, the revised version was based on a similar model as the meetings of the conferences of the parties in 2015, with the addition of a high-level segment. In line with the request from the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention, a Rotterdam Convention-specific plenary session was scheduled earlier in the two-week period.
  1. In the ensuing discussion bureaux members agreed that the early Rotterdam Convention-specific plenary session would consider the intersessional work on the process of listing chemicals in Annex III to the Convention, as well as chemicals for inclusion in Annex III to the Convention. As the time available during the afternoon plenary might not be sufficient to consider both items, thesession might extend beyond 6 p.m. that evening.
  1. Related to the schedule of contact groups, the Secretariat clarified that the draft list contained in annex II to document 2 provided expected start and end dates of each group. Within these timeframes, the groups would meet during a set amount of time in order to limit the total number of groups meeting in parallel.
  1. In the ensuing discussion bureaux members noted that it was possible that not all of the groups wouldbe necessary and that some could be set up in a different format (e.g. friends-of-the-President group). One bureau member suggested that instead of having a contact group on synergies, the matter could be integrated into discussions on other agenda items. Such an approach would highlight that synergies matters had been integrated into the operations of the conventions. The Deputy Executive Secretary clarified that the Secretariat was taking this approach by reflecting some of the recommendations from the review of synergies arrangements in documents pertaining to related agenda items. Parties might still wish to set up a contact group on synergies to deal with the review reports overall.
  1. Bureaux members discussed whether there should be one or two contact groups for the consideration of chemicals for inclusion in Annex III to the Rotterdam Convention and for the consideration of the intersessional work on the process of listing chemicals under the Rotterdam Convention. They agreed that if there were two groups, they should not meet in parallel.
  1. On compliance, the three Presidents proposed to adopt the procedures and mechanisms on compliance under the Rotterdam Convention in plenary at the beginning of the meetings. With respect to the Stockholm Convention, the Presidents proposed that further work be undertaken in a friends-of-the President group. In the ensuing discussion, one Bureau member supported this proposal while another member cautioned the bureaux that some Parties might still have some concerns they wish to see addressed before agreeing to adopt the mechanism under the Rotterdam Convention. Mr.Khashashneh invited bureaux members to consult their regions overnight on possible additional views about how to proceed on compliance during the meetings of the conferences of the Parties. The next day, the bureaux took note that no additional views had been put forward in this respect.
  1. Related to the question on the number of groups that would meet in parallel, a number of members noted that the small size of some delegations should be kept in mind. Another noted that in the past, when financial support was provided for only one delegate per Party country, several contact groups were running in parallel. It could thus be expected that with three delegates funded, more than three groups could meet at the same time. The bureaux agreed to aim at limiting the number ofcontact groups running in parallel to plenary to two, and if no plenary is taking place to three. Informal meetings such as friends-of–the-presidents meetings could however take place in parallel. If there was a need to go beyond this number, the bureaux would consider this on a case by case basis. Additionally, they would pay attention to not schedule groups that are generally attended by the same delegatesin parallel.
  1. Concerning potential co-chairs of contact groups, Mr. Khashashneh invited the bureaux members to put forward proposals from the regions. Criteria to be taken into account in identifying possible chairs would be regional, as well as gender balance. He drew attention to a training for potential chairs under the conventions that the Secretariat was organizing in early 2017.
  1. With respect to the approach on credentials, the Secretariat reported that for the meetings in 2015, the bureaux had agreed that when examining credentials received, they would accept original credentials in good order as well as copies of credentials in good order with the understanding that the original would be submitted as soon as possible.Following the 2015 meetings, three out of the seven Parties that had provided a copyof the credentials during the meetings had submitted the original to the Secretariat.
  1. In the ensuing discussion bureaux members expressed support for following the same approach as during the 2015 meetings.The Secretariat would follow up with Parties that presented copies to seek submission of the original credentials..
  1. The Secretariat informed the bureaux that as per past practice,side events would be held during the meetings of the conferences of the parties. Additionally, a technology fair would take place in the margins of the meetings from Thursday, 27 April 2017, to Saturday, 29 April 2017. The Executive Secretary invited the bureaux to provide ideas and contributions towards the fair.
  1. The bureauxapproved the tentative schedule of workand expressed support for thedraft schedule of possible groups set out in annex III to the present report, noting that groups would be setup as needed. The bureaux would further discuss the need for co-chairs for each group and whether one or two groups would be established to deal with the consideration of chemicals for inclusion in Annex III to the Rotterdam Convention and the intersessional work on the process of listing chemicals under the Rotterdam Convention.

(b)Organization of the high-level segment

  1. For this agenda sub-item, the bureaux had before thema revised draft proposal for the organization of the high-level segment of the meetings of the conferences of the parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions in 2017 (document 3).
  1. The Secretariat introduced the document, summarizing the discussions on this issue at the individual bureaux meetings: while support had been expressed for the main features of the high-level segment, including the ministerial roundtables and the high-level discussion in plenary, agreement still needed to be reached on the timing of the high-level segment; the level of representation by Parties; and its possible outcomes. The high-level segment would not involve negotiations of specific items on the agendas of the three meetings of the conferences of the parties nor decision-making on these items.
  1. In August 2016, the Presidents had agreedon the following theme of the high-level segment, taking into account the comments made by bureaux members: “A future detoxified: sound management of chemicals and waste”.
  2. With regard to the timing of the high-level segmentbureaux members reiterated arguments expressed at the individual bureaux meetings: several advocatedfor the beginning of the two-week period to allow ministers to provide strategic direction to the meetings and to keep the focus of delegates at the end of the meetings on reaching conclusions on outstanding issues. Other membersfavoured the end of the two-week periodto allow ministers to show commitment towards the decisions taken. Several members expressed preference for holding the segment on one calendar day to facilitate travel arrangements for ministers. On the other hand, one member pointed out that having an overnight break, as done at the 2013 meetings of the conferences of the parties, would facilitate the preparation of outcomes of the round tablesfor the concluding high-level plenary session.
  1. In their consideration of the level of representation by Parties,different approaches were suggested. While some bureaux members advocated letting ministers discuss among peers on a high political level, others expressed preference for allowing heads of delegation to participate in order to not excludeany Parties from the discussions.The bureaux agreed that the opening of the high-level segment, as well as the high-level plenary discussion would be open to all delegates. Participation in the roundtables would however be limited to ministers, deputy ministers and ambassadors.
  1. With regard to the possible outcomes of the high-level segment, different views were expressed whether there should be a ministerial statement or declaration, in addition to the key outcomes of the roundtables being summarized in the meetings reports. Some bureaux members were in favour of a ministerial statementor declaration as a concrete outcome to share within their governments. Others supported not having a statement or declaration expressing concern that negotiating such a declaration or statement would be very time-consuming during the meetings, andwould,in particular,increase the strain on smaller delegations.
  1. Following further consultations, the bureaux agreed to hold the high-level segment on the afternoon of Thursday, 4 May 2017 and in the morning of Friday, 5 May 2017 and to limit the outcomes of the segment to the key messages emerging from the roundtables.
  1. The Executive Secretary summarized the main features and arrangements for the high-level segment: during the opening, keynote speakers would introduce the theme as well as sub-themes to stimulate discussions at the round tables. The subthemes currently envisaged related to the link between sound management of chemicals and waste and the Sustainable Development Goals; the implementation of the conventions through partnerships; and reducing waste and pollution. The Presidents invited views from the bureaux members on the sub-themes and the selection of keynote speakers. Bureaux members suggested identifyinginspirational speakers who are able to showcase success stories and practical approaches for chemicals and wastes management; theselection should take into account regional, gender and age balance, as well as different sectoral backgrounds. The bureaux agreed to provide any further suggestions, following consultations in the regions, within two weeks following the joint bureaux meeting.

(c)Election of officers and subsidiary body members

  1. For this agenda sub-item, the bureaux had before them information on elections of officers and subsidiary body members to take place during the meetings of the conferences of the parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions in 2017 (document 4).
  1. The Secretariat recalled the information on elections that it had provided during the individual bureaux meetings and pointed out that additional information was now available on the regional rotation of the co-chairs of the Basel Convention Open-ended Working Group. Document 4 furthermore provided information on arrears in assessed contributions to the general trust funds of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, as at 31 August 2016. Under all three conventions, any Party whose contributions are in arrears for two or more years shall not beeligible to become a member of any bureau of the Conference of the Partiesor its subsidiary bodies, unless that Party is a least developed country or small island developing States or if it has agreed on and is respecting a schedule of payments.
  1. The bureaux took note of the information provided and agreed to share the information with their regions.

(d)Fund-raising

  1. In introducing the sub-item, the Secretariatinformed the bureaux members that it hadrecently sent a fundraising letter seeking financial contributions for the meetings of the conferences of the parties. So far, the European Union and Norway had offered funding for participants’ travel and Switzerland for the regional preparatory meetings. Taking into account that parts of the Swiss host-country contribution for the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions could additionally be used to cover participation of delegates in the meetings of the conferences of the parties, the remaining fundraising needs exceeded USD 1.2 million (including programme support costs) for participants’ travel and approximately USD 200,000 (including programme support costs) for participation of ministers in the high-level segment. In particular, the Secretariat experienced a sharp decrease of unearmarked contributions.
  1. In response to a question from a bureau member, the Executive Secretary clarified that while it was generally seeking collaborationwith industryin partnerships, it might not be appropriate to seek their support for participants’ travel, as it might raise doubts related to the independence of the delegates supported by industry.
  1. In the ensuing discussionone bureau member expressed concern over the reduced amount of funds available for sound management of chemicals and wastes. It was mentioned that the drop insupport towards the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions went in parallel with newly established structures such as the special programmeto support institutional strengthening at the national level for implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, the Minamata Convention and SAICM,as there was not generally more funding available in the chemicals and wastes area. It was thus important to look into cost-effective solutions for these new programmes. The Executive Secretary stressed the importance of raising sufficient funds to allow all Parties to attend the meetings of the conferences of the parties and cautioned bureaux members against a possible reduction in the allocation of funds for the chemicals and wastes focal areain general and the Stockholm Convention in particular in the upcoming seventh replenishment of the Global Environment Facility.
  1. The bureauxtook note of the information provided and agreed to convey the information on the urgent fundraising needsfor the meetings of the conferences of the parties to their regions. It also requested the Secretariat to update and make available the information on fundraising prepared earlier that year for the individual bureaux meetings.

(e)Regional preparatory meetings

  1. In introducing the sub-item, the Secretariat mentioned thatdates and venues for the four meetings had been set in consultation with bureaux members from the respective regions.[2] Thanks to the generous financial contribution provided by the Government of Switzerland, the organization of all four meetings had been secured. The contribution provided funding for up to two delegates pereligibleParty, one of which should be familiar in particular with Rotterdam Convention issues in order to allow in-depth discussions about the intersessional process on listing chemicals under the Rotterdam Convention. All four meetings would be organized in cooperation with the interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention and there would be an opportunity to discuss issues of common interest among the four conventions.
  1. In response to questions from bureaux members the Secretariat clarified that the bureaux members of each region would decide on the participation of observers in the meetings. One bureau member stressed that the meetings shouldbe restricted to participantsfrom within the region to enable discussionson matters of regional concern.Mr. Adu-Kumi mentioned that the African region would like to send a representative to attend all four regional meetings in order to present their proposal for amending the Rotterdam Convention.
  1. Some bureaux members underlined the importance of their presence at the meetings in their regions. The Secretariat clarified that funding was available for twoparticipants per Party and that the expectation was that the Parties would nominate their bureaux members. The bureaux agreed that the invitation letter should encourage Parties to do so.
  1. The bureaux took note of the information provided.

4.Compliance under the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions