Regional meetings and activities

Upcoming meetings: 

2nd Central and Eastern European (CEE) regional meeting on SAICM and associated workshops, Bucharest, Romania, 8-11 September 2008

Background:

The ICCM decided in resolution 1 that intersessional work be promoted through, among other things, holding regional meetings The Overarching Policy Strategy paragraph 26 highlights that:

"It will be essential that implementation of the Strategic Approach continue effectively between meetings of the Conference, building on its open, multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral methods. There will be a number of elements for achieving this:

(a) Regional meetings have played a significant role in the development of the Strategic Approach, and it will be important to build on this commitment and expertise, taking into account the needs of developing countries, in particular the least developed among them, countries with economies in transition and developed countries. Regional meetings will facilitate input on Strategic Approach activities, preparation for future meetings of the Conference and exchange of regional expertise and exchange of information. As with the Conference itself, such meetings could be held back-to-back with relevant regional or global intergovernmental organisation meetings, subject to extrabudgetary funding;

(b) The functions of the regional meetings will include:

(i) To review progress on implementation of the Strategic Approach within the regions;
(ii) To provide guidance on implementation to all stakeholders at a regional level;
(iii) To enable technical and strategic discussions and exchange of information to take place;"

Initial planning for the regional meetings was undertaken in consultation with SAICM regional focal points. Discussions are reflected in planning notes of 10 May and 26 June 2006

Stakeholders wishing to express views on this matter should contact their regional focal points or the SAICM secretariat at saicm@chemicals.unep.ch

The secretariat wishes to express its gratitude to donors for their contributions to the regional meetings.

Previous meetings:

Other regional meetings and activities:

African Core Group: The African Core Group (ACG) on SAICM was established at the first session of the SAICM Preparatory Committee, held in Bangkok, in November 2003 at the request of the African regional representative on the SAICM Bureau. The ACG initially comprised representatives of eleven African and representatives of two non-governmental organizations. The ACG was primarily set up to facilitate regional coordination during the SAICM development process and to prepare for effective implementation of SAICM in Africa.

Following the adoption of SAICM in February 2006, the ACG met again in Cairo, Egypt from 13 to 15 June 2006 to discuss preparations for SAICM implementation in Africa and the African regional meeting on SAICM subsequently held in Cairo, Egypt from 11 to 14 September 2006. At the latter regional meeting, the continuation of the ACG to coordinate SAICM implementation in Africa was endorsed and  terms of reference, including a broader membership structure was developed.

The Group has developed an initial work plan and carried out its work via e-mail and audio teleconferences. Minutes of the teleconferences can be downloaded here: first teleconference, second teleconference (English, French) and third teleconference.

Arab Core Group: The Arab Core Group (ArCG) on SAICM was established at a meeting of the Arab Technical Team for Multilateral Environmental Agreements Relevant to the Management of Hazardous Chemicals and Wastes held in Cairo, Egypt, from 16 to 18 September 2006. The members of the ArCG are Egypt, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Sudan Syria, and Tunisia. The ArCG met in Alexandria, Egypt on 29 October 2006 to discuss its terms of reference and planning for SAICM implementation in the Arab region. The Arab region held a  meeting of Arab countries on SAICM in Cairo, Egypt, from 1 to 2 April 2007.The meeting agreed amongst other issues to rename the Arab Core Group as the Arab Coordination Unit, allowing for larger membership.

CEE "Bridging" Group: During the first Central and Eastern European regional meeting, held in Riga from 4 to 6 December 2006, participants agreed that an informal group should be established in order to link the discussions and work undertaken at that meeting with the work of the regional focal point. It suggested that representatives be nominated to act as a bridge for information exchange between the regional focal point and members of the region. Initial members of the “bridging” group are the regional focal point (Romania), the regional representatives on the QSP Executive Board (Belarus, Georgia) as well as Hungary, Latvia, Macedonia and Moldova 

LAC regional coordinating committee: The committee held its first meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from 11 to 13 June 2008 (see: Latin American and Caribbean regional coordinating committee meeting on SAICM)