space Basel Action News, Vol 1, #1

"Without any reason given, some of the most knowledgeable experts on the international trade in hazardous waste were pushed out of the meeting, said Isabel de la Torre of BAN, "It is very disturbing to see how little attention is paid by delegates to Agenda 21's clear mandate to provide greater transparency and NGO involvement in governmental deliberations."

More than 20 observers were asked to leave less than 15 minutes after the meeting started after Swiss co-chair Marco Buletti questioned their presence in the room. After raising the question about observers, Buletti asked delegations to express their opinion regarding observers. Citing the "expertise and helpfulness" of the NGOs, delegates from China, Malaysia and Qatar stated categorically that they are in favor of the attendance of the observers in the Contact Group. Recalling earlier Conferences of Parties of the Basel Convention, Kevin Stairs, legal expert on the Basel Convention from Greenpeace reminded the delegates in attendance that NGOs had consistently been allowed in past working groups.

Although some representatives of industry also left with the observers who were ousted yesterday, from attending as observers in the Contact Working Group, many industrial non-governmental attendees were allowed to attend as they were listed on country delegations.

S.M.Mohd Idris, President of the Friends of the Earth-Malaysia (Sahabat Alam Malaysia) questioned the high number of industrial lobbyists present on the Malaysian delegation. Likewise Julia Kalmirah of BAN and WALHI protested the imbalance. "Half of the Indonesian four-person official delegation consists of waste lobbyists", she said. "The industrial lobbyists from the battery, steel, petroleum, manufacturing industries etc. are overwhelming certain countries' official delegations, while environmental NGOs are locked out."