A/HRC/15/22 • The Basel Convention,2 the Waigani Convention3 and the Bamako Convention,4 which establish an international regime for the control of the transboundary movement and sound disposal of hazardous and other wastes • The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992, which contains several principles on the protection of human health and the environment from the adverse effects caused by the unsound management and disposal of toxic and dangerous products and wastes5 • The Rotterdam Convention, which regulates the international trade in certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides6 • The Stockholm Convention, which seeks to protect human health and the environment from the harmful impacts of persistent organic pollutants (POPs)7 2 3 4 5 6 7 GE.10-14907 The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is the first global instrument that seeks to protect human health and the environment against the threats posed by hazardous wastes and other wastes. The Convention, which entered into force in 1992, establishes rules aimed at regulating trade in waste, rather than prohibiting it. It has 173 parties as of 30 June 2010. The Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within the South Pacific Region (the Waigani Convention) has a scope similar to that of the Basel Convention. It entered into force in 2001, and has 13 parties as of June 2008. The Convention on the Ban of Imports into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa (the Bamako Convention) addresses certain problems relating to the movement and disposal of hazardous waste that the Basel Convention did not cover. In particular, it bans the importation of any hazardous waste, including types of waste that are excluded from the Basel regime, into African States from non-parties to the Convention. It entered into force in 1998, and has been ratified by 24 countries as of 3 February 2010. See in particular Principle 14, according to which “States should effectively cooperate to discourage or prevent the relocation and transfer to other States of any activities and substances that cause severe environmental degradation or are found to be harmful to human health.” The Rio Declaration also contains a number of provisions that reflect customary international law or emerging rules, including Principle 10 (access to information, participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters), Principle 15 (precautionary approach), Principle 16 (polluter-pays principle) and Principle 17 (environmental impact assessment). The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade aims to provide an efficient method for exchanging information and control the international trade of certain hazardous industrial chemicals and pesticides that have been banned or severely restricted for health or environmental reasons. It entered into force in 2004, and has 132 parties as of 30 June 2010. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) aims to eliminate, reduce and restrict the production and use of POPs. POPs are chemicals that possess toxic properties, remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically and accumulate in ecosystems, including in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife. Exposure to POPs can lead to serious health effects including certain cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to disease and even diminished intelligence. The Convention entered into force in 2004, and has 170 parties as of 30 June 2010. 5