CM/Res.1225 (L)
RESOLUTION ON GLOBAL CONVENTION FOR THE CONTROL OF TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENT OF HAZARDOUS
WASTES AND THEIR DISPOSAL IN AFRICA
The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting in its Fiftieth Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 17 to 22 July, 1989,
Recalling its Resolution CM/Res.1153 (XLVIII) on the “Dumping of Nuclear and Industrial Wastes in Africa” and CM/Res.1199 (XLIX) on the Global Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes respectively,
Noting that the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their disposal as well as the Final Acts were adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries at Basel, Switzerland, on 22 March, 1989,
Commending the solidarity of Member States and their high level representation at the Conference in response to the request of the Current Chairman, President Noussa Traore of Mali and its appeal contained in Resolution CM/Res.1199 (XLXX),
Recognizing that, despite the laudable efforts deployed by the African Group during the Conference, there are still some inadequacies in the Basel Convention,
Aware of the fact that OAU Member States have not signed the Basel Convention in compliance with the decision of the African Group at the Conference,
Conscious of the grave consequences that the dumping of hazardous wastes can have on the social and economic development of Africa in the field of environmental preservation,
Recognizing the need to draw up an African Convention on the Control and Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes in the Continent,
1. COMMENDS Member States which have promulgated laws prohibiting all forms of illegal transboundary movements of hazardous wastes into their countries and CALLS UPON those who have not already done so to enact similar laws;
2 REQUESTS the African countries in collaboration with the other members of the African, Carribean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States to continue to urge their EEC partners in the current negotiations for Lome IV Convention, the need for a total prohibition on the export of all il legal transboundary movements of hazardous wastes from the EEC to ACP group of states;
MANDATES the Secretary-General of the OAU to undertake consultations with the view to adopting a common position on the Basel Convention;
CHARGES the Secretary-General of the OAU to continue the preparations and the holding in Banako, Mali, of the OAU Pan-African Co-ordinating Conference on environment and lasting development, as initiated by the out-going Current Chairman. One of the chief aims of this Conference will be to draw up a draft reciprocal commitment of African states among themselves, aimed at the implementation and effective prohibition of the import of hazardous wastes into AFRICA, as provided for in Resolution CM/Res.1153 (CXVIII) and CM/Res.1199 (XLIX) of the OAU Council of Ministers as well as to lay the foundations for a rational organization for the movements and processing within the African continent of hazardous wastes produced in AFRICA. This draft commitment should take into consideration both at the continental and marine areas, to ensure an effective control aimed at avoiding the flow of hazardous wastes into the African oceans;
DECIDES to set up a Working Group composed of legal and environmental experts to draw up a Draft African Convention on the Control of the Transboundary Movement of all forms Hazardous Wastes in the continent;
REQUESTS the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, in co-operation with the ECA Executive Secretary, the UNEP Executive Director and the Executive Directors of other UN bodies, Organizations and Specialized Agencies to lend the said Working Group all the necessary assistance;
MANDATES the OAU Secretary-General to find ways and means of strengthening the structures of the General Secretariat of the OAU to enable it to effectively carry out its new monitoring activities through the establishment of a regional system based on sub-regional structures, in close co-operation with the UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENTS PROGRAMME, including the Permanent Secretariat of the Convention;
APPEALS to the Executive Director of the UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME to help to develop close co-operation between UNEP and OAU so as to ensure firm support for the implementation of this resolution;
FURTHER REQUESTS the Secretary-General of Organization of African Unity to submit to the Fifty-first Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers, a progress report on the implementation of the resolution.