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Art.3 |
Article 3 |
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Art.3.1 |
1. Each Party shall, within six months of becoming a Party to this Convention, inform the Secretariat of the wastes, other than those listed in Annex I of this Convention, considered or defined as hazardous under its national legislation and of any requirements concerning transboundary movement procedures applicable to such wastes. |
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Art.3.2 |
2. Each Party shall subsequently inform the Secretariat of any significant changes to the information it has provided pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article. |
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Art.3.3 |
3. The Secretariat shall forthwith inform all Parties of the information it has received pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article. |
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Art.3.4 |
4. Parties shall be responsible for making the information transmitted to them by the Secretariat under paragraph 3 of this Article available to their exporters, importers and other appropriate bodies. |
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Art.4 |
Article 4 |
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Art.4.1 |
1. Hazardous wastes and radioactive wastes import and export ban |
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Art.4.1.a |
(a) Each Pacific Island Developing Party shall take appropriate legal, administrative and other measures within the area under its jurisdiction to ban the import of all hazardous wastes and radioactive wastes from outside the Convention Area. Such import shall be deemed an illegal and criminal act; and |
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Art.4.1.b |
(b) Each Other Party shall take appropriate legal, administrative and other measures within the area under its jurisdiction to ban the export of all hazardous wastes and radioactive wastes to all Forum Island Countries, or to territories located in the Convention Area with the exception of those that have the status of Other Parties in accordance with Annex IV. Such export shall be deemed an illegal and criminal act. |
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Art.4.2 |
2. To facilitate compliance with paragraph 1 of this Article, all Parties: |
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Art.4.2.a |
(a) shall forward in a timely manner all information relating to illegal hazardous wastes and radioactive wastes import activity within the area under its jurisdiction to the Secretariat who shall distribute the information as soon as possible to all Parties; and |
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Art.4.2.b |
(b) shall cooperate to ensure that no illegal import of hazardous wastes and radioactive wastes from a non-Party enters areas under the jurisdiction of a Party to this Convention. |
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Art.4.3 |
3. Ban on dumping of hazardous wastes and radioactive wastes at sea |
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Art.4.3.a |
(a) Each Party which is a Party to the London Convention, the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, 1985, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or the Protocol for the Prevention of Pollution of the South Pacific Region by Dumping, 1986, reaffirms the commitments under those instruments which require it to prohibit dumping of hazardous wastes and radioactive wastes at sea; and |
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Art.4.3.b |
(b) Each Party which is not a Party either to the London Convention or the Protocol for the Prevention of Pollution of the South Pacific Region by Dumping, 1986, should consider becoming a Party to both of those instruments. |
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Art.4.4 |
4. Wastes located in the Convention Area |
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Art.4.4.0x |
Each Party shall: |
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Art.4.4.a |
(a) ensure that within the area under its jurisdiction, the generation of hazardous wastes is reduced at its source to a minimum taking into account social, technological and economic needs; |
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Art.4.4.b |
(b) take appropriate legal, administrative and other measures to ensure that within the area under its jurisdiction, all transboundary movements of hazardous wastes generated within the Convention Area are carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Convention; |
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Art.4.4.c |
(c) ensure the availability of adequate treatment and disposal facilities for the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes, which shall be located, to the extent practicable, within areas under its jurisdiction, taking into account social, technological and economic considerations. However, where Parties are for geographic, social or economic reasons unable to dispose safely of hazardous wastes within those areas, cooperation should take place as provided for under Article 10 of this Convention; |
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Art.4.4.d |
(d) in cooperation with SPREP, participate in the development of programmes to manage and simplify the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes which cannot be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner in the countries in which they are located. Provided that such programmes do not derogate from the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes as required by this Convention, they may be registered as arrangements under Article 11 of this Convention; |
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Art.4.4.e |
(e) develop a national hazardous wastes management strategy which is compatible with the SPREP South Pacific Regional Pollution Prevention, Waste Minimization and Management Programme; |
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Art.4.4.f |
(f) submit to the Secretariat such reports as the Conference of the Parties may require regarding the hazardous wastes generated in the area under its jurisdiction in order to enable the Secretariat to produce a regular hazardous wastes report; |
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Art.4.4.g |
(g) subject to Article 11 of this Convention, prohibit within the area under its jurisdiction hazardous wastes from being exported to or imported from non-Parties within the Convention Area; and |
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Art.4.4.h |
(h) take appropriate legal, administrative and other measures to prohibit vessels flying its flag or aircraft registered in its territory from carrying out activities in contravention of this Convention. |
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Art.4.5 |
5. Radioactive wastes |
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Art.4.5.a |
(a) Parties shall give active consideration to the implementation of the IAEA Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Wastes and such other international and national standards which are at least as stringent; and |
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Art.4.5.b |
(b) subject to available resources, Parties shall actively participate in the development of the Convention on the Safe Management of Nuclear Waste. |
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Art.4.6 |
6. Domestically prohibited goods: |
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Art.4.6.a |
(a) subject to available resources, Parties shall endeavour to participate in relevant international fora to find an appropriate global solution to the problems associated with the international trade of domestically prohibited goods; and |
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Art.4.6.b |
(b) nothing in this Convention shall be interpreted as limiting the sovereign right of Parties to act individually or collectively, consistent with their international obligations, to ban the importation of domestically prohibited goods into areas under their jurisdiction. |
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Art.9 |
Article 9 |
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Art.9.1 |
1. For the purpose of this Convention, any transboundary movement of hazardous wastes shall be deemed to be illegal traffic if: |
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Art.9.1.a |
(a) carried out without notification, pursuant to the provisions of this Convention, to all countries concerned; |
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Art.9.1.b |
(b) carried out without the consent, pursuant to the provisions of this Convention, of a country concerned; |
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Art.9.1.c |
(c) consent is obtained from countries concerned through falsification, misrepresentation or fraud; |
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Art.9.1.d |
(d) the contents do not conform in a material way with the supporting documentation; |
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Art.9.1.e |
(e) it results in deliberate disposal of hazardous wastes in contravention of this Convention, other relevant international instruments and of general principles of international law; or |
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Art.9.1.f |
(f) it is in contravention of the import or export bans established by Article 4.1. |
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Art.9.2 |
2. Each Party shall introduce or adopt appropriate national legislation to prevent and punish illegal traffic. The Parties shall cooperate with a view to achieving the objects of this Article. |
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Art.9.3.a |
3. (a) In the case of a transboundary movement of hazardous wastes deemed to be illegal traffic as the result of conduct on the part of the exporter or generator, the exporting Party shall ensure that, within thirty days from the time the exporting Party has been informed about the illegal traffic or such other period of time the countries concerned may agree, the wastes in question are either: |
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Art.9.3.a.i |
(i) taken back by the exporter or generator or if necessary by itself into the exporting Party; or, if impracticable, |
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Art.9.3.a.ii |
(ii) otherwise disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this Convention; |
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Art.9.3.b |
(b) in the case of paragraph 3(a)(i) of this Article, the Parties concerned shall not oppose, hinder or prevent the return of those wastes to the exporting Party. |
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Art.9.4 |
4. In the case of a transboundary movement of hazardous wastes deemed to be illegal traffic as a result of conduct on the part of the importer or disposer, the importing Party shall ensure that the wastes in question are disposed of in an environmentally sound manner by the importer or disposer or, if necessary, by itself within thirty days from the time the illegal traffic has come to the attention of the importing Party or such time as the countries concerned may agree. To this end, the importing Party and the exporting Party shall cooperate, as necessary, in the disposal of the wastes in an environmentally sound manner. |
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Art.9.5 |
5. In cases where the responsibility for the illegal traffic cannot be assigned either to the exporter or generator or to the importer or disposer, the Parties concerned or any other Parties, as appropriate, shall ensure through cooperation that the wastes in question are disposed of as soon as possible in an environmentally sound manner either in the exporting Party or the importing Party or elsewhere as appropriate. |
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Art.9.6 |
6. The Secretariat shall undertake the necessary coordination with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention in relation to the effective prevention and monitoring of illegal traffic in hazardous wastes. Such coordination shall include: |
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Art.9.6.a |
(a) exchanging information on incidents or alleged incidents of illegal traffic in the Convention Area and on the appropriate steps to remedy such incidents; and |
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Art.9.6.b |
(b) providing assistance in the field of capacity building including development of national legislation and of appropriate infrastructure in the Pacific Island Developing Parties with a view to the prevention and penalization of illegal traffic of hazardous wastes. |
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Art.10 |
Article 10 |
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Art.10.1 |
1. The Parties to this Convention shall cooperate with one another, non-Parties and relevant regional and international organisations, to facilitate the availability of adequate treatment and disposal facilities and to improve and achieve the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes. Such facilities shall be located within the Convention Area to the extent practicable taking into account social, technological and economic considerations. |
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Art.10.2 |
2. To this end, the Parties shall: |
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Art.10.2.a |
(a) upon request, make information available, whether on a bilateral or regional basis, with a view to promoting the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes, including harmonisation of relevant technical standards and practices; |
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Art.10.2.b |
(b) cooperate in monitoring the effects of hazardous wastes and their management on human health and the environment; |
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Art.10.2.c |
(c) cooperate, subject to their national laws and policies, in the development and implementation of new environmentally sound and cleaner production technologies and the improvement of existing technologies. Such cooperation shall be with a view to eliminating, as far as practicable, the generation of hazardous wastes and achieving more effective and efficient methods of ensuring their management in an environmentally sound manner, including the study of the economic, social and environmental impacts of the adoption of such new and improved technologies; |
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Art.10.2.d |
(d) cooperate, subject to their national laws and policies, actively in the transfer of technology and management systems related to the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes. They shall also cooperate in developing the technical capacity and infrastructure of Parties, especially those which may need and request technical assistance in this field; and |
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Art.10.2.e |
(e) cooperate in developing appropriate technical guidelines and/or codes of practice. |
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Art.10.3 |
3. The Secretariat shall encourage Other Parties and other concerned developed countries to take all practicable steps to promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, the transfer of, or access to, environmentally sound technologies and know-how to Pacific Island Developing Parties, to enable them to implement the provisions of this Convention. Other Parties undertake to cooperate with the Secretariat in this regard. |
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Art.10.4 |
4. Taking into account the needs of developing countries, Parties shall encourage cooperation with international organisations in order to promote, among other things, public awareness, the development of rational management of hazardous wastes, and the adoption of new technologies which are environmentally sound, including cleaner production technologies. |
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Art.14 |
Article 14 |
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Art.14.1 |
1. A Secretariat for this Convention is hereby established. The functions of the Secretariat shall be to: |
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Art.14.1.a |
(a) arrange and service meetings of the Parties to this Convention; |
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Art.14.1.b |
(b) prepare the regular budget of the Conference of the Parties, as required by this Convention; |
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Art.14.1.c |
(c) prepare and transmit reports based upon information received in accordance with Articles 3, 4, 7, and 11 of this Convention; |
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Art.14.1.d |
(d) prepare and transmit information derived from meetings of subsidiary bodies and agencies established under Article 13 of this Convention or provided by relevant inter-governmental and non-governmental entities; |
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Art.14.1.e |
(e) ensure coordination with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention and other relevant international and regional bodies, and in particular to enter into such administrative arrangements as may be required for the effective discharge of its functions; |
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Art.14.1.f |
(f) communicate with the competent authorities and focal points established by the Parties in accordance with Article 5 of this Convention as well as appropriate inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations which may provide financial and/or technical assistance in the implementation of this Convention; |
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Art.14.1.g |
(g) compile information concerning approved sites and facilities available for the disposal of hazardous wastes and means of transport to these sites and facilities and to circulate this information; |
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Art.14.1.h |
(h) receive and convey on request to Parties information on available sources of technical and scientific expertise; |
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Art.14.1.i |
(i) receive and convey on request to Parties information on consultants or consulting firms having the necessary technical competence in the field which can assist them with examining a notification for a transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, the concurrence of a shipment of hazardous wastes with the relevant notification, and/or whether the proposed disposal facilities for hazardous wastes are environmentally sound, when they have reason to believe that the wastes in question will not be managed in an environmentally sound manner; |
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Art.14.1.j |
(j) assist Parties to this Convention in their identification of cases of illegal traffic and to circulate immediately to the Parties concerned any information it has received regarding illegal traffic, and to undertake the necessary coordination with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention as provided for in Article 9.6; |
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Art.14.1.k |
(k) to cooperate with countries concerned and with relevant and competent international organisations and agencies in the provision of experts and equipment for the purpose of rapid assistance in the event of an emergency situation in the Convention Area; |
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Art.14.1.l |
(l) to report the information prescribed in paragraph 2 of this Article, to the Parties to this Convention, before the end of each calendar year; and |
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Art.14.1.m |
(m) to perform such other functions relevant to the purposes of this Convention as may be determined by the Conference of the Parties. |
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Art.14.2 |
2. The Secretariat shall transmit to the Parties, before the end of each calendar year, a report taking into account material provided by Parties under Articles 4.4(f) and 7.3 on the previous calendar year, containing the following: |
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Art.14.2.a |
(a) information regarding transboundary movement of hazardous wastes in which Parties have been involved, including: |
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Art.14.2.a.i |
(i) the quantity of hazardous wastes exported, their category, characteristics, destination, any transit country and disposal method as stated in the notification; |
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Art.14.2.a.ii |
(ii) the amount of hazardous wastes imported, their category, characteristics, origin, and disposal methods; |
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Art.14.2.a.iii |
(iii) disposals which did not proceed as intended; and |
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Art.14.2.a.iv |
(iv) efforts to achieve a reduction of the amount of hazardous wastes subject to transboundary movement. |
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Art.14.2.b |
(b) information on measures adopted by Parties in the implementation of this Convention; |
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Art.14.2.c |
(c) information where it is available on the effects on human health and the environment from the generation, transportation and disposal of hazardous wastes in the Convention Area. The information may take the form of statistical data; |
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Art.14.2.d |
(d) information on accidents occurring during transboundary movements, treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes and on measures undertaken to deal with them; |
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Art.14.2.e |
(e) information on environmentally sound treatment and disposal options operated by Parties; and |
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Art.14.2.f |
(f) information on measures undertaken by Parties for the development of cleaner production technologies for the reduction and/or elimination of the production of hazardous wastes. |
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Art.14.3 |
3. The Secretariat's functions shall be carried out by SPREP. |
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Art.16 |
Article 16 |
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Art.16.1 |
1. Any Party may propose amendments to this Convention. |
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Art.16.2 |
2. Amendments to this Convention may be adopted only at a meeting of the Conference of the Parties at which at least two-thirds of the Parties are represented. The text of any proposed amendment to this Convention shall be communicated to the Parties by the Secretariat at least six months before the meeting at which it is proposed for adoption. The Secretariat shall also communicate proposed amendments to the Signatories to this Convention and to the Depositary for their information. |
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Art.16.3 |
3. The Parties shall make every effort to reach agreement on any proposed amendment to this Convention by consensus. If all efforts at consensus have been exhausted, and no agreement reached, the amendment shall, as a last resort, be adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of Parties present and voting, each Party having one vote, and shall be submitted by the Depositary to all Parties for ratification, approval or acceptance. |
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Art.16.4 |
4. Instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval of amendments shall be deposited with the Depositary. Amendments shall enter into force between Parties having accepted such amendments on the ninetieth day following the date of receipt by the Depositary of the instruments of at least three-fourths of the Parties to this Convention. Thereafter the amendments shall enter into force for any other Party on the ninetieth day after the date on which that Party deposits its instrument. |
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Art.16.5 |
5. For the purpose of this Article, "Parties present and voting" means Parties present and casting an affirmative or negative vote. |
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Art.17 |
Article 17 |
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Art.17.1 |
1. The Conference of the Parties may, at any ordinary meeting, adopt protocols to this Convention. |
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Art.17.2 |
2. The text of any proposed protocol shall be communicated to the Parties by the Secretariat at least six months before the meeting at which it is proposed for adoption. |
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Art.17.3 |
3. The procedure specified in Article 16.3 shall apply to the adoption of, and any amendments to, any protocol. |
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Art.17.4 |
4. The requirements for the entry into force of any protocol or subsequent amendments to such protocol shall be established by that protocol. |
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Art.17.5 |
5. Decisions under any protocol shall be taken only by the Parties to that protocol. |
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Art.20 |
Article 20 |
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Art.20.1 |
1. In case of a dispute between Parties as to the interpretation or application of, or compliance with, this Convention or any protocol thereto, the Parties concerned shall seek a settlement of the dispute through negotiation, mediation or any other peaceful means of their own choice. |
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Art.20.2 |
2. If the Parties concerned cannot settle their dispute through the means mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, the dispute, if the Parties to the dispute agree, shall be submitted to arbitration under the conditions set out in Annex VII of this Convention or to the International Court of Justice. However, failure to reach common agreement on submission of the dispute to arbitration or to the International Court of Justice shall not absolve the Parties from the responsibility of continuing to seek to resolve it by the means referred to in paragraph 1. |
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Art.20.3 |
3. When ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to this Convention, or at any time thereafter, a Party may declare that it recognises as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any Party accepting the same obligation: |
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Art.20.3.a |
(a) arbitration in accordance with the procedures set out in Annex VII; and/or |
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Art.20.3.b |
(b) submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice. |
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Art.20.4x |
Such declaration shall be notified in writing to the Secretariat which shall communicate it to the Parties. |
