Governance
Bamako Convention on the ban on the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa
The Bamako Convention is a treaty of African nations prohibiting the import of any hazardous (including radioactive) waste. The Convention was negotiated by twelve nations of the Organization of African Unity at Bamako, Mali in January, 1991, and came into force in 1998. Full text of the Convention is available here and countries which have signed, ratified/acceded to the Convention are listed hereChemical Weapons Convention
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (commonly referred to as Chemical Weapons Convention) aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by States Parties. Read moreInternational Convention on the Harmonized System
This Convention was established with the objective to facilitate international trade by reducing the expense incurred by re-describing, reclassifying and recoding goods (including chemicals) as they move from one classification system to another in the course of international trade and to facilitate the standardization of trade documentation and the transmission of data. http://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201503/volume-1503-I-25910-English.pdf
As amended by the Protocol of Amendment to the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System of 24 June 1986. More details can be found here.
The Waigani Convention
The Waigani Convention is a treaty that bans the exporting of hazardous or radioactive waste to Pacific Islands Forum countries, and prohibits Forum island countries from importing such waste. Click here for more information on the Convention
ILO Convention 174 concerning the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents
ILO Convention No. 174 and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 181) aims to protect workers, the public and the environment from major industrial accidents, in particular through the prevention of major accidents involving hazardous substances and the limitation of the consequences of such accidents. To download the Convention: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C174 To see the ratifications to the Convention: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/ratifce.pl?C174
ILO Convention 170 concerning Safety in the use of Chemicals at Work
This Convention No. 170 and its accompanying recommendation (No. 177) represent international efforts to upgrade the national measures and harmonize regulatory standards. They emphasise the need to establish a coherent national policy of chemical safety ranging from the classification and labelling of chemicals to the control in all aspects of the use of chemicals. To download the Convention: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C170 To see ratifications to the Convention: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/ratifce.pl?C170
The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
The Rotterdam Convention was implemented to promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts among Parties in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals in order to protect human health and the environment from potential harm; to contribute to the environmentally sound use of those hazardous chemicals, by facilitating information exchange about their characteristics, by providing for a national decision-making process on their import and export and by disseminating these decisions to Parties.
