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JOINT PRESS RELEASE --
Greenpeace - Basel Action Network
Despite attempts by countries like US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to delay and dilute this historic Ban amendment, all parties agreed that no new nations will be added to the Annex VII list of countries [1] until the ban enters into force. However, in a compromise that was accepted by majority of the parties with reluctance, the Fourth Conference decided to embark on a study to analyse the implications of Annex VII. Currently, the ban, which was adopted by consensus in 1995, has 16 ratifications. For it to enter into force and become part of international law, 48 more countries need to ratify the ban amendment. Australia, Canada and New Zealand adopted the consensus with reservations. Environmental organisations Basel Action Network (BAN) and Greenpeace have singled out the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand for their bad faith negotiations. "The stance of these countries not only pollute the environment but also pollute international relations," the organizations stated. The Basel Convention and the subsequent ban amendment were results of demands by developing countries for a legally binding instrument that would protect them from the dumping of hazardous waste by industrialised nations. The fate of the ban amendment was undecided until the last day of COP IV because of the weakening attempts of some OECD nations. These OECD countries were acting in self-interest to keep open the cheap option of sending their hazardous wastes to industrialising nations for disposal and recycling. The most significant threat to the Ban amendment during this COP came from Israel and Slovenia. The proposals introduced by these countries would have allowed them, under pressure from industries or industrialised nations, to seek inclusion in an existing list (Annex VII list) consisting of OECD member states, the EU and Liechtenstein. This would have permitted them to continue receiving wastes from the rich OECD countries despite the ban, and set a dangerous precedent for potentially unlimited expansion of the list. Developing country delegates argued that expanding the Annex VII list of countries will delay the ratification of the Basel ban because countries would decide to wait for the final version of the list before ratifying. "We are relieved that the Basel parties have rejected attempts to reverse the Basel Hazardous Waste Trade Ban. We laud the vision shown by (the Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme) Prof. Klaus Toepfer, who urged Basel Parties to remove all obstacles to ratifying the ban and take steps to achieve the more substantive principles of the Convention, namely hazardous waste minimization through clean production," said Basel Action Network and Greenpeace in a joint press release issued today from Kuching, Malaysia. "For the third time in a row, the world community has staved off the threat to the ban decision and reaffirmed the need for countries to take responsibility for minimizing their own toxic wastes, " said Kevin Stairs of Greenpeace International. "Today's outcome is a victory for all except the small group of ban-saboteurs; countries now need to rapidly ratify the ban amendment and implement it to provide industry with the necessary impetus to invest in clean production and avoid hazardous waste generation," said Ferney Piou, spokesperson of Basel Action Network from Haiti.
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NOTES: 1. Countries in the Annex VII -- which is a list consisting of the most industrialised nations, namely OECD member states, the European Union and Liechtenstein -- are prohibited from exporting their hazardous wastes to non-Annex VII or non-OECD countries. Marcelo Furtado More News |