BASEL CONVENTION
ON THE CONTROL OF TRANSBOUNDARY
MOVEMENTS OF HAZARDOUS WASTES
AND THEIR DISPOSAL
PROTOCOL ON LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION
FOR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENTS
OF HAZARDOUS WASTES AND THEIR DISPOSAL
TEXTS AND ANNEXES
Minimise the generation of Convention
waste.
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Ensure that disposal facilities are available
for Convention waste.
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Prevent pollution from facilities for the
disposal of Convention waste.
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Ensure that people who handle and
transport Convention waste are authorized
to do so.
There are also general obligations focused
on the transboundary movement of Convention
waste, including abiding by the principles of the
notification and consent regime, namely to:
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Inform other countries of any prohibitions
of the import of waste.
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Abide by any such prohibitions imposed by
other countries.
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Prevent export of waste to other countries
unless they have consented to import.
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Prohibit any transboundary movement if
it is suspected that the waste will not be
managed in an environmentally sound
manner.
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Minimise the transboundary movement of
Convention waste.
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Prohibit trade in Convention waste with
non-Parties.
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Require that Convention waste, when
subject to transboundary movement, is
packed and transported in accordance
with international law, and that the
movement is tracked.
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Require that Convention waste subject to
transboundary movement is managed in
an environmentally sound manner.
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Ensure that Convention waste is only
exported when the country of export
lacks the capacity to manage it, or the
country of import needs it as raw material
or in accordance with other criteria to be
agreed by the Parties.
In addition, Article 6 sets out specific rules
relating to the system of notification and consent
governing transboundary movement, and Article 7
extends that regime to transit through non-Party
states.
Other articles cover administrative support for
the system (e.g. Article 5 provides for notification
of competent authorities and focal points) and
impose special requirements governing matters
such as reimport of waste (Article 8) and illegal
traffic (Article 9). Article 11 allows Parties to enter
into new agreements with other countries covering
transboundary movements of waste, or to abide
by existing agreements, provided in each case the
said agreements do not involve lower standards of
protection than the Convention itself.
A substantial quantity of supporting material
has been developed over the years in working
groups under the Convention, providing a valuable
resource for countries confronted by waste
management problems related to issues covered
by Convention waste. Among these guidance tools,
the Technical Guidelines on priority waste streams
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