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

Growth in chemical production and trade has raised concerns about potential risks posed by hazardous chemicals and pesticides to human health and the environment. In response, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), co-sponsored negotiations that resulted in the 1998 Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. Its objectives are: to promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts among parties in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals to protect human health and the environment from potential harm; and to contribute to the environmentally sound use of those hazardous chemicals.

The PIC Procedure is a mechanism for obtaining and disseminating the decisions of importing parties on whether they wish to receive future shipments of certain chemicals, and for ensuring compliance with these decisions by exporting parties. The Procedure applies to chemicals listed in Annex III of the Convention, which includes pesticides, industrial chemicals, and severely hazardous pesticide formulations.

Events

Showing 1 - 10 of 33 results

20th Meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (CRC-20)

The CRC reviewed a record 35 notifications of final regulatory action, as well as four proposals for listing severely hazardous pesticide formulations. The Committee adopted draft decision guidance documents for chlorpyrifos and mercury, and agreed that notifications on chlorpyrifos-methyl and paraquat meet the criteria to be listed in the Rotterdam Convention. The CRC will continue reviewing notifications on nine substances and three severely hazardous pesticide formulations at its next meeting.
Event 17 September 2024 - 20 September 2024

2023 Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)

Beyond addressing resource mobilization and the illegal traffic of hazardous chemicals and wastes, delegates tried to effectiveness challenges under the Rotterdam Convention, listed new persistent organic pollutants and adopted a compliance mechanism under the Stockholm Convention, and tackled guidelines on different categories of hazardous wastes under the Basel Convention.
Conference of the Parties (COP) 1 May 2023 - 12 May 2023

18th Meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (CRC-18)

The Chemical Review Committee faced a lengthy agenda as it reviewed a dozen hazardous chemicals and pesticides to determine if they should be listed under the Rotterdam Convention’s prior informed consent procedure, which could limit their trade, if deemed necessary to protect human health and the environment.
Event 19 September 2022 - 23 September 2022

Face-to-Face Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)

The Basel Convention flexed its institutional muscle, while the Rotterdam Convention managed to add just two of the seven chemicals proposed to its prior informed consent procedure. The Stockholm Convention continued to list new chemicals, but it now faces the downstream consequences of that success: new chemicals bring added implementation challenges.
Conference of the Parties (COP) 6 June 2022 - 17 June 2022

17th Meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (CRC-17)

After a meeting dominated by questions about what constitutes a risk evaluation under the Rotterdam Convention, the Committee decided that two of the four chemicals considered met the criteria for listing banned or severely restricted chemicals. The others will be considered at the next meeting in 2022.
Event 20 September 2021 - 24 September 2021

16th Meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (CRC-16)

During this virtual meeting, the Committee finalized its work on two industrial chemicals: decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds. The CRC agreed to recommend that the Conference of the Parties (COP) list both industrial chemicals in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention. 
Event 8 September 2020 - 11 September 2020

15th Meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (CRC-15) of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade

At its fifteenth meeting, the Rotterdam Convention’s Chemical Review Committee reviewed notifications from countries that took a domestic final regulatory action that banned or severely restricted three chemicals: amitrole, decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and nonylphenols and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NP and NPEs).
Event 8 October 2019 - 10 October 2019

14th Meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (CRC-14) of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade

CRC-14 considered the draft decision guidance documents (DGDs) for acetochlor, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and phorate, agreeing to recommend listing these chemicals in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention (Chemicals subject to the PIC procedure). The Committee also discussed the updated version of the Handbook of Working Procedures and Policy Guidance for the Chemical Review Committee (CRC Handbook).
Event 11 September 2018 - 13 September 2018