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IFCS Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety 15 November 2004 Vol.4 No.9 Rev.1 Information Circular NOTE: OECD article has been revised Table of Contents Global Women's Assembly on Environment NEPAD endorses CropLife Africa Middle East Harmonisation Initiative OECD list of HPV Chemicals UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics: Managing the risks of chemicals Global Women's Assembly on Environment The United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) first Global Women's Assembly on Environment: Women as the Voice for the Environment (WAVE) was held from 11-13 October 2004, in Nairobi, Kenya. WAVE undertook an assessment of the commitments made by governments, the international community and major groups since the UN Conference on Environment and Development (1992). Over 150 participants from 60 countries attended the Assembly. The outcome document from the Assembly is a Manifesto including recommendations and project ideas, which will be brought forward to relevant intergovernmental meetings, including the Beijing +10 review session and the WSSD follow-up. Several of the recommendations in the Manifesto relate directly to chemical safety. For example, the Assembly called for: The precautionary approach to be applied to prevent negative effects on women's health by pollutants and toxins. The substitution principle to be applied to the manufacture and use of toxic substances. Chemical substances contained in products to be fully listed. Norms and standards for use of and exposure to hazardous chemicals to take into account the specific vulnerability of women. Gender-disaggregated data on chemicals and pollutants. These recommendations provide additional guidance on the scope and target of a number of the IFCS Priorities for Action Beyond 2000 and the IFCS Forum IV Recommendations (both documents may be found at: www.ifcs.ch); in particular, the IFCS efforts in the area of Children and Chemical Safety. Governments and organizations are encouraged to review the recommendations from the Assembly and to consider how these might be addressed in existing and new initiatives. Further information may be found at: http://www.unep.org/dpdl/cso/WAVE/default.asp Secretariat: c/o World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland Tel: +41 (22) 791 3873/1334/3650; Fax: +41 (22) 791 4875; Email: [email protected]; Website: www.ifcs.ch NEPAD endorses CropLife Africa Middle East Harmonisation Initiative The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) recently endorsed CropLife Africa Middle East's regulatory harmonisation initiative for East and Southern African countries. The South East Africa Regulatory Committee on Harmonisation (SEARCH) aims to promote and harmonize the regulatory legislation and procedures related to the registration and handling of agrochemical pesticides, based on international standards. For further information, please contact: Les Hillowitz at [email protected], or Keith Jones at [email protected]. OECD list of HPV Chemicals The 2004 OECD List of High Production Volume Chemicals is now available at: http://www.oecd.org/env/existingchemicals Chemicals listed in this document are produced at levels greater than 1,000 tons per year in at least one member country/region. Chemicals on this list are selected by OECD member countries for co-operative investigation, resulting in internationally agreed initial hazard assessments based on a Screening Information Data Set, or SIDS. The intention is to screen chemicals for potential hazards, so that resources can be concentrated on undertaking further work on chemicals of concern. To date about one-fourth of the chemicals on the HPV List have been assessed in OECD UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics: Managing the risks of chemicals The latest edition of Industry and Environment (Volume 27, No2-3, April-September 2004), a publication of the UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, focuses on Managing the risks of chemicals. This publication will be of interest to all IFCS participants, as it includes articles related to global chemicals management, international chemicals conventions, the precautionary principle, cleaner production and community "right to know". Managing the risks of chemicals may be found at: http://www.uneptie.org/media/review/ie_home.htm