3rd Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG3) of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) has just kicked off

The third meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG3) of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) will take place in Montevideo, Uruguay from 2-4 April 2019. It will be preceded by regional meetings and a technical briefing on 1 April 2019. Executive Director of ESDO and Director of Asian Center for Environmental Health, Ms. Siddika Sultana has also attended the conference.

ICCM is the top decision-making body of the voluntary multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral policy framework known as the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM or Strategic Approach). The OEWG’s primary role is to prepare for ICCM sessions and to guide SAICM intersessionally.

OEWG3 will have four principal tasks:

• prepare for ICCM5, scheduled for 5-9 October 2020 in Bonn, Germany;
• assess progress toward the global goal of achieving by 2020 the use and production of chemicals in ways that lead to the minimization of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment;
• discuss the sound management of chemicals and waste beyond 2020, when the current mandate of the Strategic Approach is due to expire; and
• consider the planned activities and draft budget of the SAICM Secretariat for the period 2019-2020.

1st day of the conference has passed, here is the update of the 1st day given below:

Delegates to the third Open-ended Working Group (OEWG3) of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) gathered at the Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Monday, 1 April 2019, for a pre-session set of “technical briefings.”  One briefing featured a “deep dive” into the second edition of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Global Chemicals Outlook (CGO II), hosted by UNEP.  The other featured a dialogue hosted by the Government of Germany on an improved enabling framework on chemicals and waste, with a view to helping inform discussions planned during OEWG3 on a post-2020 platform.

The dialogue on an improved enabling framework heard presentations on lessons learned from the global biodiversity governance process, including the implementation of the Aichi Targets and the negotiations for a post-2020 framework, and on the findings of the report commissioned by the German Environment Agency from Adelphi and Summit Outcomes on “Global Governance on Chemicals and Waste.” The meeting then broke into four smaller groups to brainstorm on:

• The division of labor between the successor to the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) and the encompassing governance arrangement for any new chemicals and waste platform for post-2020 work;
• Routes and fora to facilitate accountability in chemicals and waste work beyond 2020;
• Goals and targets involving chemicals and waste beyond 2020; and
• Process until ICCM5 in 2020 and beyond.

The GCO II discussion focused on six distinct sessions which followed the structure of the GCO II.
Delegates reflected on, inter alia:

• The need for capacity building in the technical areas of chemicals management, especially for developing countries;
• Risk assessments and sharing these across countries; and
• How best to strengthen knowledge sharing and outreach on chemicals and wastes.

Among the session’s highlights were:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that the global burden of disease from selected chemicals was around 1.6 million in 2016, and this is likely an underestimate;
• Celebration by many participants of the multi-stakeholder approach, with emphasis on including additional sectors going forward such as labor and education; and
• The call by some for increased incentives for collaboration between industry and government on green chemistry and innovation.

For More Info: http://enb.iisd.org/chemical/SAICM/iccm5/oewg3/about.html