Thanks to Croatia's deposition of its instrument of ratification of an amendment to the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes, the global ban on the export of hazardous products to developing countries will enter into force, the NGO network BAN (Basel Action Network) welcomed on Monday 9 September.
In a statement, the NGO welcomed "the transformation into law of the most important idea ever conceived to promote environmental justice at the global level".
The Croatian instrument of ratification was deposed on 6 September. The amendment, adopted by the parties to the Basel Convention in 1995, prohibits the export of hazardous waste by EU Member States, OECD Member States and Liechtenstein to all other countries.
97 countries representing 3/4 of the parties that voted in 1995 have now ratified it. The necessary quorum is therefore reached to allow its entry into force. The amendment will become a new article of the Basel Convention and will enter into force in all 97 countries on 5 December.
Having not ratified the ban: the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, India, Brazil and Mexico. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)