Search

Curtain raising video of the third meeting of the intersessional process held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, from 1 to 4 October 2019. Regional meetings and technical briefings took place on 30 September 2019. These meetings support stakeholders in their efforts to elaborate the future arrangements of the Strategic Approach and the sound management of chemicals and waste beyond 2020 for consideration and adoption at the next session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5)

The Global Chemicals Outlook II – From Legacies to Innovative Solutions: Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, mandated by the UN Environment Assembly in 2016, seeks to alert policymakers and other stakeholders to the critical role of the sound management of chemicals and waste in sustainable development. It takes stock of global trends as well as progress made and gaps in achieving the global goal to minimize the adverse impacts from chemicals and waste by 2020. The Global Chemicals

«Knowledge and Information» is one of the five Strategic Objectives of SAICM.SAICM’s Overarching Policy Strategy recognizes that knowledge, information and public awareness are the foundations of sound decision-making, on the management of chemicals and products containing chemicals. However, the Policy Strategy also under-lines that there is a lack of clear, timely and appro-priate information easily accessible to local popula-tions about the health and safety effects of chemi-cals.It is for this reason, that knowledge and information sharing are critical components of

1. The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management is a global policy framework to guide efforts to attain the goal set out in the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development that, by 2020, chemicals will be produced and used in ways that minimize significant adverse effects on human health and the environment. The involvement of all relevant sectors and stakeholders is central to achieving the objectives of the Overarching Policy Strategy of the Strategic Approach. 2

The present Overarching Policy Strategy flows from the commitments expressed in the Dubai Declaration on International Chemicals Management developed in the context of the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

The future we want for the sound management of chemicals1.In paragraph 23 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, Governments identified the goal of “achiev[ing] by 2020, that chemicals are used and produced in ways that lead to the minimization of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment” (see appendixA).That goal was further adopted as part of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management by the International Conference on

On International Women’s Day, the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention on Mercury launched a video on how women are more negatively impacted by mercury and what needs to be done to better protect, support and promote gender equality. watch the videoThe Minamata Convention tackles mercury throughout its entire life cycle, fighting gender issues every step of the way. This includes supporting gender-specific trainings and helping implement National Action Plans with a gender perspective -- with special focus on the problem

The aim of the guidance is to advance broader agreement on a general approach and criteria for the selection of safer alternatives, with a focus on chemical substitution. It is intended to advance a consistent understanding of the minimum requirements needed to determine whether a chemical alternative is safer than the priority chemical, product, or technology for substitution, independent of the entity performing the assessment or the alternatives assessment framework being used.The guidance focuses on minimum assessment criteria and recommended

The new version of SAICM texts exists in English only and includes the resolutions adopted by ICCM at its first, second and third sessions. The older other language versions include only resolutions adopted by ICCM at its first session.New activities included in the Global Plan of ActionAt ICCM3 (17-21 September 2012), SAICM stakeholders agreed to the inclusion of new activities relating to the environmentally sound management of nanotechnologies and manufactured nanomaterials and hazardous substances within the life-cycle of electrical and