A/HRC/9/22 page 6 20. Environmentally sound management and adherence to the Basel Convention are essential for the protection of human health and livelihood, as well as the achievement in particular of MDG 1 (eradicate extreme poverty), MDG 3 (promote gender equality and empower women), MDG 4 (reduce child mortality), MDG 5 (improve maternal health), MDG 6 (combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases), MDG 7 (ensure environmental sustainability) and MDG 8 (develop a global partnership for development).2 21. COP9 had a full programme of work. States parties adopted more than 30 decisions prepared by the Open-ended Working Group on, inter alia: cooperation and coordination; the budget; legal matters; review of the Basel Convention Regional and Coordinating Centres (BCRCs); the Partnership Programme; the Strategic Plan; and technical matters. 22. In her opening statement to COP9, Katharina Kummer Peiry, Executive Secretary of the Basel Convention, reminded delegates about the Convention’s recent achievements. They include: tackling the problem of e-waste, which resulted in the Nairobi Declaration which was adopted during COP8; international efforts on ship dismantling; collaborating with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to strengthen the hazardous waste handling capacity of the Côte d’Ivoire; increasing stakeholder involvement; strengthening the capacities of developing countries through the Basel Convention Regional and Coordinating Centres (BCRCs); and formulating draft technical guidelines for used tyres and mercury wastes. Ms. Kummer Piery also pointed out some of the challenges facing the Convention. She noted that the Convention is currently facing difficult times and hoped that COP9 would place the Basel Convention firmly on the international agenda and reaffirm its implementation as a prerequisite to sustainable development.3 23. Despite the efforts of many delegates in pushing the agenda forward, COP9 failed to adopt the Basel Ban Amendment. The Ban Amendment prohibits all forms of hazardous waste exports from the 29 wealthiest industrialized countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to all non-OECD countries. 24. Positive outcomes of the meeting included the agreement to build greater synergies with the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. The meeting reached an agreement on the Strategic Framework as well as on the e-waste partnership workplan. The contribution of the Special Rapporteur 25. In his statement to the high-level segment, the Special Rapporteur praised the organizers of COP9 on the choice of a theme focusing on human health and livelihood and setting it against the backdrop of the MDGs. 2 http://cop9.basel.int/cop9theme.pdf. 3 See http://www.iisd.ca/download/pdf/enb2027e.pdf.