workshop report. - Green Customs Initiative

hazardous wastes and other as close as possible to their source of generation in an environmentallysound manner, to minimize the generation of hazardous waste and other waste in terms of bothquantity and potential hazard. To achieve these objectives, the Basel convention has established aregulatory system based on the following: The requirement of prior informed consent of a State ofimport and State of transit before a waste can be exported and, to this end, the establishment of anotification procedure and imposition of restriction on exports to a country that is not a party to theconvention, as well as a duty to re-import when an expert has not complied with the provisions ofthe convention.He therefore informed the participants that Parties are obliged to take the appropriate measures toensure that the trans boundary movement of hazardous waste and other waste is allowed only if (1)the state of export does not have the technical capacity and the facilities, capacity or suitabledisposal sites needed to dispose of the waste in question in an environmentally sound manner (2)the waste in question is required as raw material for recycling or recovery industries in the State ofimport. The convention permits the parties to adopt other applicable criteria from time to time.Such criteria are normally found in the decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties, whichare binding on all Parties.Basel convention provides for, and permits parties to place, prohibitions on exports and imports.Specifically, Parties have the right to prohibit the import of hazardous waste or other waste intotheir jurisdictions for disposal.‣ Parties must not allow the export of hazardous waste or other waste to a State or group ofState belonging to an economic or political integration organization that has, by legislationprohibited all imports. For example, such legislation may have been adopted by Africancountries in accordance with the Bamako Convention, which prohibits the import ofhazardous waste into Africa.‣ A Party must not allow exports to a State when it has reason to believe that the waste inquestion will not be managed in an environmentally sound manner.‣ A Party is prohibited from exporting wastes to, or importing wastes from, a non party.Such exports/imports are permitted if the Party has entered into a bilateral agreement orarrangement on the Trans boundary movement of hazardous waste or other wastes withthe non-Party, or is a party to a multilateral or regional agreement that also involves thenon-Party, as long as the agreement does not derogate from the environmentally soundmanagement of hazardous waste and other waste as required by the Basel convention.‣ Parties are prohibited from exporting waste falling within the scope of the convention fordisposal within the area south of latitude 6 o south, whether or not such waste are subjectto Trans boundary movement (Article 4(6)). The Competent Authority, when consideringwhether to permit a trans-boundary movement, must verify that the request is consistentwith any relevant restriction (for example, import bans on certain waste streams or specialprocedural requirements provided by national definitions).He concluded that to foster effective enforcement of the Convention’s obligations, the nationalcompetent authority should also ensure that customs officers are kept informed of any restriction orrequirements that derive from the convention or from measures adopted by individual States, sothat they can take these into account when verifying shipments at the border.The fourth presentation of the day was given by Johansen Voker convention on the prohibition ofthe Development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and on their destructionwhich entered into force in 1997. One hundred and eighty-four States are party to the convention9