The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on 22 May 2001 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Convention entered into force on 17 May 2004.
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife, and have harmful impacts on human health or on the environment.
Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) can lead to serious health effects including certain cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to disease and damages to the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Main provisions
Among others, the provisions of the Convention require each party to:
- Prohibit and/or eliminate the production and use, as well as the import and export, of the intentionally produced POPs that are listed in Annex A to the Convention (Article 3)
Annex A allows for the registration of specific exemptions for the production or use of listed POPs, in accordance with that Annex and Article 4.
- Restrict the production and use, as well as the import and export, of the intentionally produced POPs that are listed in Annex B to the Convention (Article 3)
Annex B allows for the registration of acceptable purposes for the production and use of the listed POPs, in accordance with that Annex.
Objective
As set out in Article 1, the objective of the Stockholm Convention is to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants