Article 4 EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION Each Party shall periodically exchange with other Parties, either directly or through the Organisation, current information relating to the implementation of this Protocol, including the identification of the officials charged with carrying out the activities covered by it, and information on its laws, regulations, institutions and operational procedures relating to the prevention and the means of reducing and combating the harmful effects of pollution incidents. 1. Article 5 COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION CONCERNING, Each Party shall establish appropriate procedures to ensure that information regarding pollution incidents is reported as rapidly as possible and shall, inter alia: (a) require appropriate officials of its government to report to it the occurrence of any pollution incident which comes to their attention; (b) require masters of vessels flying its flag and persons in charge of offshore facilities operating under its jurisdiction to report to it the existence of any pollution incident involving their vessel or facilities; (c) (d) establish procedures to encourage masters of vessels flying its flag or of its registry to report, to the extent practicable, the existence of any pollution incident involving their vessel to any coastal State in the South Pacific Region which they deem likely to be seriously affected; request masters of all vessels and pilots of all aircraft operating in the vicinity of its coasts to report to it any pollution incident of which they are aware. 2. In the event of receiving a report regarding a pollution incident, each Party shall promptly inform all other Parties whose interests are likely to be affected by such incident as well as the flag state of any vessel involved in it. Each Party shall also inform the Organisation and, directly or through the Organisation, the competent international organisations. Furthermore, it shall inform, as soon as feasible, such other Parties and organisations of any measures it has itself taken to minimize or reduce pollution or the threat thereof. 1. Article 6 MUTUAL ASSISTANCE Each Party requiring assistance to deal with a pollution incident may request, either directly or through the Organisation, the assistance of the other Parties. The Party requesting assistance shall specify the type of assistance it requires. The Parties whose assistance is requested under this article shall, within their capabilities, provide this assistance based on an agreement with the requesting Party or Parties and taking into account, in particular in the case of pollution by hazardous substances other than oil, the technological means available to them. If the Parties responding jointly within the framework of this article so request, the Organisation may co-ordinate the activities undertaken as a result. 2. Each Party shall facilitate the movement of technical personnel, equipment and material necessary for responding to a pollution incident, into, out of and through its territory. Article 7 OPERATIONAL MEASURES Each Party shall, within its capabilities, take steps including those outlined below in responding to a pollution incident: (a) make a preliminary assessment of the incident, including the type and extent of existing or likely pollution effects; (b) (c) (d) (e) promptly communicate information concerning the situation to other Parties and the Organisation pursuant to article 5; promptly determine its ability to take effective measures to respond to the pollution incident and the assistance that might be required and to communicate any request for such assistance to the Party or Parties concerned or the Organisation in accordance with article 6; consult, as appropriate, with other affected or concerned Parties or the Organisation in determining the necessary response to a pollution incident; carry out the necessary measures to prevent, eliminate or control the effects of the pollution incident, including surveillance and monitoring of the situation. 1. Article 8 SUB-REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS The Parties should develop and maintain appropriate sub-regional arrangements, bilateral or multilateral, in particular to facilitate the steps provided for in articles 6 and 7 and taking into account the general provisions of this Protocol. 2. The Parties to any arrangements shall notify the other Parties to this Protocol as well as the Organisation of the conclusion of such sub-regional arrangements and the provisions thereof. (a) (b) (c) Article 9 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS The Parties designate the Organisation to carry out the following functions: assisting Parties, upon request, in the communication of reports of pollution incidents in accordance with article 5; assisting Parties, upon request, in the organisation of a response action to a pollution incident, in accordance with article 6; assisting Parties, upon request, in the following areas: (i) the preparation, periodic review, and updating of the contingency plans, referred to in paragraph 2 of article 3, with a view, inter alia, to promoting the compatibility of the plans of the Parties; and (ii) the identification of training courses and programmes; (d) assisting the Parties upon request, on a regional or sub-regional basis, in the following areas: (i) the co-ordination of emergency response activities; and (ii) the provision of a forum for discussions concerning emergency response and other related topics; (f) (g) (h) (i) (i) appropriate regional and international organisations; and (ii) appropriate private organisations, including producers and transporters of substances which could give rise to a pollution incident in the South Pacific Region and clean-up contractors and co-operatives; maintaining an appropriate current inventory of available emergency response equipment; disseminating information related to the prevention and control of pollution incidents and the removal of pollutants resulting therefrom; identifying or maintaining emergency response communications systems; encouraging research by the Parties, as well as by appropriate international and private organisations, on the environmental effects of pollution incidents, the environmental effects of pollution incident control materials and other matters related to pollution incidents; (j) assisting Parties in the exchange of information pursuant to article 4; and (k) preparing reports and carrying out other duties assigned to it by the Parties. 1. Article 10 MEETINGS OF THE PARTIES Ordinary meetings of the Parties to this Protocol shall be held in conjunction with ordinary meetings of the Parties to the Convention, held pursuant to article 22 of the Convention. The Parties to this Protocol may also hold extraordinary meetings as provided for in article 22 of the Convention. (a) (b) to review the operation of this Protocol and to consider special technical arrangements and other measures to improve its effectiveness; to consider any measures to improve co-operation under this Protocol including, in accordance with article 24 of the Convention, amendments to this Protocol. 1. 2. Article 11 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS PROTOCOL AND THE CONVENTION The provisions of the Convention relating to any Protocol shall apply with respect to the present Protocol. The rules of procedure and the financial rules adopted pursuant to article 22 of the Convention shall apply with respect to this Protocol, unless the Parties to this Protocol agree otherwise. Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, Basel, 1989 Done at Basel 22 March 1989 Entered into force 5 May 1992* Depositary: Secretary-General of the United Nations Primary source citation: Senate Treaty U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1991 BASEL CONVENTION ON THE CONTROL OF TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENTS OF HAZARDOUS WASTES AND THEIR DISPOSAL PREAMBLE The Parties of this Convention, Aware of the risk of damage to human health and the environment caused by hazardous wastes and other wastes and the transboundary movement thereof, Mindful of the growing threat to human health and the environment posed by the increased generation and complexity, and transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes, Mindful also that the most effective way of protecting human health and the environment from the dangers posed by such wastes is the reduction of their generation to a minimum in terms of quantity and/or hazard potential, Convinced that States should take necessary measures to ensure that the management of hazardous wastes and other wastes including their transboundary movement and disposal is consistent with the protection of human health and the environment whatever the place of their disposal, Noting that States would ensure that the generator should carry out duties with regard to the transport and disposal of hazardous wastes and other wastes in a manner that is consistent with the protection of the environment, whatever the place of disposal, Fully recognizing that any State has the sovereign right to ban the entry or disposal of foreign hazardous wastes and other wastes in its territory, Recognizing also the increasing desire for the prohibition of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal in other States, especially developing countries, •This Convention is not in force for the United States. Convinced that hazardous wastes and other wastes should, as far as is compatible with environmentally sound and efficient management, be disposed of in the State where they were generated, Aware also that transboundary movements of such wastes from the State of their generation to any other State should be permitted only when conducted under conditions which do not endanger human health and the environment, and under conditions in conformity with the provisions of this Convention, Considering that enhanced control of transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes will act as an incentive for their environmentally sound management and for the reduction of the volume of such transboundary movement, Convinced that States should take measures for the proper exchange of information on and control of the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes from and to those States, Noting that a number of international and regional agreements have addressed the issue of protection and preservation of the environment with regard to the transit of dangerous goods, Taking into account the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972), the Cairo Guidelines and Principles for the Environmentally Sound Management of Hazardous Wastes adopted by the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) by decision 14/30 of 17 June 1987, the Recommendations of the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (formulated in 1957 and updated biennially), relevant recommendations, declarations, instruments and regulations adopted within the United Nations system and the work and studies done within other international and regional organizations, Mindful of the spirit, principles, aims and functions of the World Charter for Nature adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations at its thirty-seventh session (1982) as the rule of ethics in respect of the protection of the human environment and the conservation of natural resources, Affirming that States are responsible for the fulfilment of their international obligations concerning the protection of human health and protection and preservation of the environment, and are liable in accordance with international law, Recognizing that in the case of a material breach of the provisions of this Convention or any protocol thereto the relevant international law of treaties shall apply, Aware of the need to continue the development and implementation of environmentally sound low-waste technologies, recycling options, good house-keeping and management systems with a view to reducing to a minimum the generation of hazardous wastes and other wastes, Aware also of the growing international concern about the need for stringent control of transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes, and of the need as far as possible to reduce such movement to a minimum, Concerned about the problem of illegal transboundary traffic in hazardous wastes and other wastes, Taking into account also the limited capabilities of the developing countries to manage hazardous wastes and other wastes, Recognizing the need to promote the transfer of technology for the sound management of hazardous wastes and other wastes produced locally, particularly to the developing countries in accordance with the spirit of the Cairo Guidelines and decision 14/16 of the Governing Council of UNEP on Promotion of the transfer of environmental protection technology, Recognizing also that hazardous wastes and other wastes should be transported in accordance with relevant international conventions and recommendations, Convinced also that the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes should be permitted only when the transport and the ultimate disposal of such wastes is environmentally sound, and |