Press release (Geneva): More than a thousand non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from more than 100 countries called for the creation of a Global Alliance to Phase-out Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) today at the opening session of the world’s only forum on international chemical safety.
“In many developing and transition countries, ordinary conditions of pesticide use are a source of significant harm to farmer and ecosystem health. That’s why the governing Council of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization called for the progressive ban of HHPs in 2006. However, to this day, HHPs continue to be widely used and there is no comprehensive, international approach to their phase-out,” said Olga Speranskaya, IPEN Co-Chair. “It’s time for this meeting to take that step.”
Summit head says meeting should discuss need for measures after 2020
The president of next week's key UN chemicals summit has said discussions on the sound management of chemicals beyond 2020 have “not been straightforward”, but will be considered at the meeting.
Delegates from more than 100 governments, along with representatives of the chemical industry and public interest groups, will evaluate progress and plan for the future at the only international forum that addresses global and national issues related to sound chemicals management. The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) is coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The IPEN Quick Views document is a summary statement of some IPEN views about issues that will be taken up at the 4th International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4), including, among others, highly hazardous pesticides, chemicals in products, lead in paint, electronics, the overall orientation and guidance (OOG) document, endocrine disruptors, nanotechnology and finances. Read the Quick Views here.
This letter from IPEN and Pesticide Action Network (PAN) was circulated to ICCM4 delegates to ask for support to establish a Global Alliance to Phase-out Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) at the 4th Conference on International Chemicals Management (ICCM4) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. IPEN and PAN believe that such an Alliance, building on lessons learnt by the successful SAICM Global Alliance for the Elimination of Lead in Paint, is vital for assisting countries to adequately deal with HHPs and their replacement in a manner that supports the livelihoods of farmers.
The 2006 decision that established the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) expires in 2020. In this thought starter, IPEN highlights some ways that SAICM has proven to be an extremely important international framework for promoting and advancing chemical safety objectives, and offers some suggestions to address the urgent question: what comes next?
The 4th meeting of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4) for the SAICM will be held in Geneva from 28 September to 2 October 2015 and numerous IPEN Participating Organization representatives will be attending. Check our page here to find more ICCM4-related documents from IPEN, as well as information about IPEN's priorities for the conference, events during the conference, and more.
The 2006 decision that established the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) expires in 2020. In this thought starter, IPEN highlights some ways that SAICM has proven to be an extremely important international framework for promoting and advancing chemical safety objectives, and offers some suggestions to address the urgent question: what comes next?