Children and chemical safety, occupational safety and health, risk management and the reduction of acutely toxic pesticides are some of the issues being addressed at the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS FORUM IV) which began at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand on 1 November 2003 under the theme “Chemical Safety in a Vulnerable World".

It is expected to take stock of the progress achieved on the commitments and recommendations made at FORUM III, including identifying and suggesting remedies for gaps in the Bahia Declaration and Priorities for Action Beyond 2000. The session will continue till 7 November 2003.

If FORUM IV could devise a way to support the August 2003 resolution on the UN's Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations (RTC Norms) and seek powers of enforcement for the norms, it will be historical step in the direction of chemical safety. Although the resolution is still to be endorsed by the 54-country Human Rights Commission during its annual session in March 2004, Forum IV ought to put its appreciation for the RTC Norms on record because of the elements of compulsion and enforcement present in yet-to-be endorsed norms on record. Its failure to do so will be nothing short a lost opportunity.

David Weisbrodt, one of the main authors of the RTC Norms says, these UN norms essentially represent a restatement of existing international law on human rights, humanitarian law, international labour law, environmental law, anti-corruption law, consumer protection, etc. What they essentially say is that any company that wants to respect the law and be socially responsible would want to follow the norms.

Weisbrodt adds, "The states have the primary responsibility to protect human rights, and that's what the norms say. But within their spheres of activity and influence, transnational corporations also have obligations. And this document really does help governments, because after all, when faced with the considerable power of transnationals, this document helps set a sort of international minimum standard that governments can refer to."

In a communication with this author, Wessibrodt cited provision 14 (a), (b) and (c) of the U.N. human rights norms for transnationals and other
businesses:

"Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall respect the right to a clean and healthy environment in the light of the relationship between the environment and human rights; concerns for intergenerational equity; internationally recognised environmental standards, for example with regard to air pollution, water pollution, land use, biodiversity and hazardous wastes; and the wider goal of sustainable development, that is, development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall be responsible for the environmental and human health impact of all of their activities, including any products or services they introduce into commerce, such as packaging, transportation and by-products of the manufacturing process. In decision-making processes and on a periodic basis (preferably annually or biannually), transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall assess the impact of their activities on the environment and human health including impacts from siting decisions, natural resource extraction activities, the production and sale of products or services, and the generation, storage, transport and disposal of hazardous and toxic substances. Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall ensure that the burden of negative environmental consequences shall not fall on vulnerable racial, ethnic and socio-economic groups."

The critics of the norms adopted by the UN human rights sub- commission -almost exclusively business interests - say these norms contradict the
voluntary approach of the UN Global Compact. The RTC norms adopted by the UN Human Rights sub-commission have exposed these glaring loopholes of the Global Compact.

It is significant that the fourth session has begun in the backdrop of RTC norms. The first day of the fourth session began after it was declared open HRH Chulabhorn, Princess of Thailand and presented the IFCS Award of Merit to György Ungváry, IFCS Vice President for Central and Eastern Europe, and the IFCS Special Recognition Award to the International POPS Elimination Network.

The session commenced in the presence of Henrique Cavalcanti, IFCS President, Keiko Okaido, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific, and Sudarat Keyuraphan, Thailand’s Minister for Public Health.

HRH Chulabhorn in her address stressed that much remains to be done and called for developing human resources and capacity building to address toxicology in developing countries.

In his keynote address, Carl Djerassi, Stanford University, proposed the establishment of "technical social service corps" that would entail young chemistry experts from industrialized countries voluntarily working on chemical remediation and detection projects in developing countries in cooperation with local populations.
Some panelists highlighted, the "polluter pays principle" and the need to educate leaders because information does not equal empowerment and urged developing mechanisms for implementation and enforcement.

On 2nd November, 2003 the IFCS President presented his Progress Report and a report on PRTRs/emission inventories, and discuss the issue of children and chemical safety. The Regional Groups are to prepare input for the discussions on: hazard data generation and availability; acutely toxic pesticides; capacity building assistance; and ways to address the widening gap among countries.

In response to decisions SS.VII/ 3 and 22/4 IV of the United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council (UNEP GC), FORUM IV will also review and discuss the further development of a strategic approach to international chemicals management (SAICM), and present the outcome of its deliberations to the first meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the development of a SAICM, which will take place from 9-13 November 2003 in Bangkok.
The PrepCom is expected to culminate in an International Conference on Chemicals Management to be held in 2005.

The concept of an intergovernmental forum to address chemical safety originated during preparations for the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when the UNCED PrepCom identified the collaborative efforts of UNEP, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), within the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), as the nucleus for international cooperation on the environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals.

The PrepCom invited the IPCS to identify possible intergovernmental mechanisms for risk assessment and chemicals management. In response, UNEP, ILO and WHO convened an expert meeting in London, UK, in December 1991 to consider priority areas for an international strategy and proposals for an intergovernmental mechanism for the environmentally sound management of chemicals.

The meeting resulted in a recommendation to establish an intergovernmental forum on chemical risk assessment and management that was forwarded to UNCED.

At UNCED, delegates adopted Agenda 21, a programme of action for sustainable development. Chapter 19 of Agenda 21 addresses the "Environmentally Sound Management of Toxic Chemicals Including Prevention of Illegal International Traffic in Toxic and Dangerous Products," and contains an international strategy for action on chemical safety with six priority Programme Areas: expanding and accelerating international assessment of chemical risks; harmonization of classification and labeling of chemicals; information exchange on toxic chemicals and chemical risks; establishment of risk reduction programmes; strengthening of national capabilities and capacities for management of chemicals; and prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products. Chapter 19 also calls for the establishment of an intergovernmental forum on chemical safety.

In April 1994, UNEP, ILO and WHO convened the International Conference on Chemical Safety in Stockholm, Sweden. The Conference established the IFCS and constituted the first meeting of the Forum (FORUM I).

The Conference adopted a resolution with detailed recommendations on Priorities for Action in implementing Agenda 21, and the Terms of Reference for the IFCS, establishing it as a mechanism for cooperation among governments, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations to promote chemical risk assessment and the environmentally sound management of chemicals.

In February 1997 in Ottawa, Canada, FORUM II was held which made recommendations on the Programme Areas identified in Chapter 19 of Agenda 21, and on emerging issues such as endocrine disrupting chemicals and pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs). Delegates reached agreement on a number of actions regarding the structure and function of the IFCS. The Forum Standing Committee (FSC) was established as a mechanism for responding to new developments and advising on preparations for future meetings.

From 15-20 October 2000, in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil Forum III was held under the theme "In Partnership for Global Chemical Safety." Delegates reviewed the IFCS, assessed progress made on implementing Chapter 19 of Agenda 21, reached agreement on the Priorities for Action Beyond 2000, and issued the Bahia Declaration on Chemical Safety.

The Bahia Declaration lists six priorities for review at future Forums, as well as key goals with target dates for their achievement. The Priorities for Action Beyond 2000 include recommendations that are linked to these goals and organized according to the six Programme Areas set forth in Agenda 21.

Bahia forum also considered: the prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products; barriers to information exchange; information exchange for chemical production decision making; PRTRs and emissions inventories; a capacity building network for the sound management of chemicals; awareness raising and the prioritization of chemicals management capacity building issues at the political level; and the Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS).

FSC working groups established in view of FORUM II recommendations, met during the intersessional period to: consider occupational safety and health in the context of chemical safety; review assistance given to countries to support capacity building for the sound management of chemicals; address the issue of consistency and collaboration in hazard data generation and availability; and provide initial input regarding the problem of acutely toxic pesticides.

Working groups were also formed to address the widening gap among countries in following chemical safety policies, and to consider the issue of children and chemical safety.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held from 26 August to 4 September 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa adopted, among other outcomes, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), a framework for action to implement the UNCED commitments that includes a number of new commitments.

The issue of chemicals management is addressed primarily in Chapter III on Changing Unsustainable Patterns of Production and Consumption, which reflects a renewed commitment to the sound management of chemicals.

Chemicals-related targets contained in the JPOI include: the aim to achieve, 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; the development, by 2005, of a SAICM based on the Bahia Declaration and IFCS Priorities for Action beyond 2000; and the national implementation of the new GHS, with a view to having the system fully operational by 2008.

At its 21st session in 2001, the UNEP GC adopted decision 21/7, which requests the UNEP Executive Director, in consultation with governments, the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC), IFCS and others, to examine the need for a SAICM.

In February 2002, at its seventh Special Session/Global Ministerial Environment Forum, the UNEP GC agreed in decision SS.VII/3 that a SAICM was needed, and requested its Executive Director to develop a SAICM with the IFCS Bahia Declaration and Priorities for Action Beyond 2000 as its foundation. This process was to entail an "open-ended consultative meeting involving representatives of all stakeholder groups" jointly convened by UNEP, IFCS and IOMC.

The 22nd session of the UNEP GC, held in February 2003, reached agreement on a number of chemicals-related issues, including decisions on lead, the SAICM, the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, and the Global Mercury Assessment. On the SAICM, the decision endorses the concept of an international conference, with preparatory meetings, as the basis for developing the SAICM.

The 1998 Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade was adopted in September 1998. Till date, the Convention, which requires ratification by 50 States for entry into force. Forty-nine States and the European Community have ratified it.

The sixth Conference of the Parties (COP-6) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal met from 9-14 December 2002, in Geneva, Switzerland. COP-6 agreed on a compliance mechanism for the Convention, adopted a Strategic Plan, and finalized the Framework Agreement on the legal establishment of the Regional Centers for Training and Technology Transfer.

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) was adopted and opened for signature on 22 May 2001. The seventh Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-7) for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain POPs convened from 14-18 July 2003, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Forty States have ratified the Convention thus far, and there are indications that the required number of 50 instruments of ratification will be met in 2004.