The Illegal Trade in Chemicals

or the Designated National Authority (DNA) of the importing Party has provided consent after explicit consent has been sought by the exporting Party. If a chemical has been banned or restricted by an exporting party, the exporting country is required to notify the country of import through its DNA by submitting an export notification, and the DNA of the importing party is required to acknowledge the export notification. The Parties banning or restricting certain chemicals are obliged to submit notifications of their final regulatory actions to the Secretariat for verification that the notifications meet the information requirements of Annex I of the Convention. When Parties from at least two different PIC regions that ban or severely restrict a certain chemical submit Notifications that meet Annex I information requirements, the Secretariat forwards those Notifications to the Chemical Review Committee. This committee reviews the data supporting these decisions in accordance with the Annex II criteria, adopts a draft Decision Guidance Document and further recommends listing to the Conference of the Parties, which decides whether or not the chemical will become a subject to the Prior Informed Consent procedure. Parties are also required to ensure that chemicals listed in Annex III and chemicals banned or severely restricted at the national level are, when exported, subject to labelling requirements and accompanied by a safety data sheet. Because the Convention does not explicitly define illegal trade, domestic laws, including those implementing the Convention, define the legality of the production and trade in listed chemicals. Status : The Convention entered into force on 24 February 2004. There are 161 Parties to the Convention as of February 2020. There are a total of 52 chemicals listed in Annex III of the Convention, 35 pesticides (including 3 severely hazardous pesticide formulations), 16 industrial chemicals, and 1 chemical in both the pesticide and the industrial chemical categories. 3 Background: The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal restricts international trade in hazardous and other wastes. The Convention covers hazardous wastes, which are defined by their source (such as wastes fromwood-preserving chemicals) and their constituents (such as mercury, lead and asbestos), as well as by their hazardous characteristics (such as explosive, flammable or toxic).The Convention listswastes that are presumed to be hazardous and those that are presumed not to be. The Convention also applies to“other wastes”, which include household wastes and the remains of incinerated household waste. Wastes are defined as substances or objects that are disposed of, are intended to be disposed of, or are required to be disposed of by provisions of national law. The Basel Convention

In addition, the Convention covers wastes considered hazardous under the national legislation of a Party. Such national definitions must be communicated to the Secretariat of the Basel Convention and are made publicly available. Thus, the obligations with respect to hazardous waste are defined by both international and domestic definitions of waste. Trade-related obligations: The Ban Amendment under the Basel Convention prohibits the export of hazardous wastes from member states of the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and from Liechtenstein to all other countries. The Parties to the Basel Convention adopted the amendment in 1995, and it will be ratified on 5 December 2019. The transboundary movement of hazardous and other wastes is permitted only if the exporting State does not have the capacity to dispose of the wastes in question in an environmentally sound manner, the wastes in question are required as raw material in the country of import, or the trade otherwise complies with criteria determined by the Parties. The exporting Partymust provide notification to the importing Party of the proposed shipment of waste, and the importing Party must then provide its consent. The Convention requires Parties to notify and to obtain consent when any transit of hazardous wastes or other wastes which is planned or takes place through an area under the national jurisdiction of another State that is a Party to the Convention. A movement document must accompany the shipment, and after the waste has been disposed of, the importing Party must confirm that it was done in an environmentally sound manner. Parties have the right to partially or completely prohibit the import of hazardous wastes or other wastes into their jurisdiction for disposal, and other Parties must respect this restriction or prohibition. Also, a Party may not export to a State if it has reason to believe that the wastes in question will not be managed in an environmentally sound manner, and a Party may limit or ban the export of hazardous wastes or other wastes to other Parties. The Basel Convention defines“illegal traffic”as the transboundary movement of hazardous or other wastes that takes place without notification or consent of all States concerned; when consent is obtained through falsification, misrepresentation, or fraud; when there is amaterial discrepancybetweendocuments and wastes; or when the movement results in the deliberate disposal of the wastes in contravention of the convention. The Convention requires Parties to consider illegal traffic as criminal under national legislation. In addition, States that haveexported illegal waste as a result of theexporter’s conduct must take back the waste, or if impracticable, ensure that it is otherwise disposed of in accordance with the Convention. Exemptions: Trade with non-Parties is not permitted unless there is a special agreement between them that ensures the environmentally sound management of the waste.

The Illegal Trade in Chemicals

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