1.With regard to proposals to amend Annex IV and certain entries in Annexes II and IX to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (the ‘Convention’) as well as proposals to amend Annexes II, VIII and IX to the Convention in respect of waste electrical and electronic equipment at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, the Union shall pursue the following objectives:
(a)to ensure that the appropriate control mechanisms of the Convention are fully applicable, to improve controls on shipments of waste and to facilitate the prevention of illegal shipments of waste;
(b)to support the environmentally sound management of waste at global level and to contribute to the transition towards a global circular economy; and
(c)to improve legal clarity and to establish a common understanding and interpretation among the Parties of the disposal operations covered by Annex IV to the Convention.
2.In order to pursue the objectives listed in paragraph 1, the Union shall submit for consideration at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties a proposal to amend Annex IV to the Convention in order to:
(a)include in Annex IV a general introduction clearly distinguishing the terms ‘non-recovery’ and ‘recovery’, and clarify that all disposal operations that occur or might occur in practice are covered regardless of their legal status and regardless of whether they are considered to be environmentally sound, and that operations occurring prior to submission to other operations are also covered;
(b)include in Annex IV captions and introductory texts explaining what is meant by ‘non-recovery operations’ (Annex IVA) and ‘recovery operations’ (Annex IVB); and
(c)update and clarify the descriptions of operations in Annex IV in line with scientific, technical and other developments which have occurred since the Convention was adopted in 1989, and ensure, through the introduction of catch-all provisions in Annex IV, that all operations not specifically mentioned are covered by the Convention’s requirements.
A detailed proposal to amend Annex IV to the Convention is set out in Part I of the Annex to this Decision.
3.The Union shall submit for consideration at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties proposals to amend entries on plastic wastes in Annexes II and IX to the Convention. Detailed proposals concerning those amendments are set out in Part II of the Annex to this Decision.
4.The Commission, on behalf of the Union, shall communicate the proposals referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 to the Secretariat of the Convention.
5.The Union shall propose that the Conference of the Parties develop explanations or guidance, not to be included in the Convention itself, providing clarifications and examples with regard to the disposal operations covered by Annex IV to the Convention, or shall support such a proposal from other Parties.