The Secretariat of the Basel Convention has published information regarding ongoing consultations on paragraph 5 of Article 17 (Amendments of the Convention). In decision OEWG-VI/16, the Basel Convention Openended Working Group (OEWG) agreed that this paragraph presents ambiguities as to the requirements for the entry into force of amendments to the Convention and acknowledged the need for a common interpretation. The Secretariat has therefore published comments received from parties and a clarification provided by the UN Office of Legal Affairs on the interpretation of paragraph 5 of Article 17 (http://www.basel.int/legalmatters/article17(5)/Decision%20VI/comments%20oewg6.html).
The Aarhus Convention Parties are considering a draft decision of the Meeting of the Parties on the interpretation of article 14 of the Convention (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2008/L.4), which addresses the amendment procedure. The draft decision had been developed in consultation with the Bureau and the United Nations Office for Legal Affairs and with the support of an ad hoc group of legal experts nominated by delegations. The Working Group of the Parties to the Convention, at its ninth meeting (13-15 February 2008), confirmed its support that the ambiguity in article 14, paragraph 4, should be resolved through the proposed draft decision.
Interpretation of article 14 may influence the timing of the entry into force of the GMO amendment to the Aarhus Convention.
[Source: MEA Bulletin, IISD Reporting Services, Issue No 40 and UNECE]
