UNITED NATIONS

RC
UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.1/INF/8
Distr.: General 19 August 2004 English only

United Nations Environment Programme

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade Conference of the Parties First meeting Geneva, 2024 September 2004 Item 9 (d) of the provisional agenda Matters recommended by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for action by the Conference of the Parties at its first meeting: cooperation with the World Trade Organization

Cooperation with the World Trade Organization

Note by the secretariat

I.

Background
1. The basis for cooperation between the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention is set out in the second, eighth, ninth and tenth recitals of the Rotterdam Convention, which state as follows: Recalling the pertinent provisions of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and chapter 19 of Agenda 21 on Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals, including prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products, [...] Recognizing that trade and environmental policies should be mutually supportive with a view to achieving sustainable development,

UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.1/1.

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Emphasizing that nothing in this Convention shall be interpreted as implying in any way a change in the rights and obligations of a Party under any existing international agreement applying to chemicals in international trade or to environmental protection, Understanding that the above recital is not intended to create a hierarchy between this Convention and other international agreements. 2. At its ninth session, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee noted the increasing links of trade issues between the Rotterdam Convention and the work of the World Trade Organization (WTO) (see paragraph 150 of the report of that session, contained in document UNEP/FAO/PIC/INC.9/21). 3. At its tenth session, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee addressed the issue of cooperation with WTO in a separate agenda item and prepared, for consideration by the Conference of the Parties, a draft decision on cooperation between the secretariat for the Rotterdam Convention and WTO. The draft decision has been submitted to the Conference of the Parties at its first meeting in document UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.1/29.

II. Cooperation of the interim secretariat for the Rotterdam Convention with the World Trade Organization in the interim period
4. After the adoption of the Rotterdam Convention (referred to below as the Convention) in 1998, the interim secretariat for the Convention (the secretariat) continued the cooperation with WTO that had been initiated under the original prior informed consent (PIC) procedure implemented according to the amended London Guidelines and the International Code of Conduct. Cooperation under the interim PIC procedure occurs primarily in three main areas: participation in meetings of the Committee on Trade and Environment of WTO; joint work on WTO documents related to the Rotterdam Convention and other multilateral environmental agreements; and participation in general activities of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aimed at enhancing cooperation with WTO.

a. Environment

Participation in meetings of the WTO Committee on Trade and

5. Since 1997 representatives of the secretariat have taken part, both at the invitation of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment and on an ad hoc basis, in meetings of the Committee in order to provide information on the development of the Conventions procedures and on obligations in the Convention related to trade and environment issues, as well as to respond to questions and requests by country delegations to the Committee. This participation was aimed at developing closer coordination between the activities of the secretariat and of the Committee on Trade and Environment. The secretariats attendance, by invitation of the Committee, at the Committees special information session on multilateral environmental agreements, held in June 2001, which focused on compliance and dispute settlement provisions in multilateral environmental agreements, provides an example of such participation. By a recent letter from the Committee on Trade and Environment the secretariat has been invited, together with secretariats of other multilateral environmental agreements, to take part in the Committees special session to be held on 12 and 13 October 2004.

B.

Joint work on documents related to the Convention

6. The Committee on Trade and Environment, as the WTO body covering environment issues in general and cooperation with multilateral environmental agreements in particular, develops information documentation on those agreements. The secretariat has been invited to take part in this activity and has been working together with the Committees secretariat on information documents such as the matrix on trade measures pursuant to selected multilateral environmental agreements published regularly by the secretariat of the Committee on Trade and Environment, documents on trade-related measures in the

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Convention, information documents on recent developments under the Convention, background notes and documentation on compliance and dispute settlement in WTO and the multilateral environmental agreements and other matters.

C.

Participation in relevant UNEP activities

7. Given that the secretariat is being provided jointly by UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNEP activities aimed at developing cooperation with WTO have been considered relevant to the secretariats programme of work. A global arrangement between the secretariat of WTO and the United Nations as a whole was agreed between these secretariats in an exchange of letters between the Director-General of WTO and the Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1995. In accordance with the respective mandates of the secretariats of WTO and UNEP, due recognition was given to the importance of cooperation and collaboration between the two secretariats with respect to issues of mutual interest. These arrangements set in place an institutional framework for developing the following practical measures, identified by the two secretariats as having potential for WTO-UNEP cooperation: (a) Provision and exchange of relevant non-confidential information, including access to trade-related environmental databases; (b) (c) Reciprocal representation at meetings of a non-confidential nature; Holding of informal meetings and information sessions;

(d) Collaboration in capacity-building and technical cooperation activities. The WTO secretariat is an observer in the UNEP Governing Council, and UNEP is an observer in the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment and its Committee on Trade and Development. 8. The secretariat has participated in meetings and workshops for the secretariats of UNEP-administered conventions and the WTO secretariat aimed at enhancing synergies and mutual support between multilateral environmental agreements and WTO, and exploring the compliance and dispute settlement provisions in WTO and the multilateral environmental agreements. The secretariat attended workshops on trade and environment organized in partnership with UNEP, such as the brainstorming meeting for interested developing countries on the post-Doha discussions and negotiations and related capacity-building needs, involving representatives of UNEP, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation (AITIC), held in Geneva in 2002, the UNEP meeting on enhancing information exchanges between the multilateral environmental agreements and WTO held in Geneva in 2002 and other such events. Most of the above-mentioned meetings were organized back-to-back with sessions of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment. More information on these meetings can be found on the web site: http://www.unep.ch/etu. 9. The secretariat has collaborated in mutual efforts of UNEP-administered conventions aimed at promoting observer status for the secretariats of all multilateral environmental agreements in the Committee on Trade and Environment, and has been promoting observer status for the Convention secretariat in the dispute settlement bodies of WTO on the basis of reciprocity. 10. Representatives of the WTO secretariat have been invited to participate in the meetings of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Convention. The WTO secretariat is registered as an observer at the first session of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention.

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