Watch a reel from the meeting on Instagram.

The second Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, took place 29 May to 2 June 2023 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, where a series of key decisions were concluded, including the mandate for the preparation of a Zero Draft.

Prior to the start of the INC-2 IUCN and GRID-Arendal hosted a breakfast session as part of their AFRIPAC project, which is aimed to strengthen the negotiators’ skills and increase collaboration in five West-African countries: Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, with the objective to develop a strong and suited legal instrument for these five countries to end plastic pollution in their local contexts.

Outcomes

Representatives from Senegal and Cabo Verde met on Sunday 28 May early in the morning at 7.30 at the Wallace Hotel in Paris, for a continental breakfast to share experiences with one another, and express their needs related to the Treaty, circular economy and waste management. IUCN and GRID-Arendal shared information and relevant resources with the negotiators.

Present at the meeting were delegates from Senegal and Cabo Verde, Dr Alexandra Harrington of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), Andrés del Castillo, Senior Attorney and Helionore De Anzizu, Staff Attorney at the Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL). Also present were Saeed Hamid from the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and representatives from GRID-Arendal, such as Managing Director Peter Harris, and Karine Siegwart, Senior Policy Officer at IUCN.

Through this meeting the partners were able to identify follow up actions that support capacity development within the countries present.

Karine Siegwart, IUCN noted: “The countries emphasized strong measures and engagement on waste management and treatment, because they’re facing issues with regards to infrastructure and the amount of plastic waste. But also, the elimination of problematic plastics of concern, as soon as possible with a clear timeline, as well as dealing with single use plastics and transboundary plastic waste.”

Ms. Khadidiatou Drame, negotiator and lawyer for the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Senegal stated: “It is about seeing measures to be put in place that will assist African countries, including Senegal, to set up facilities to process this plastic waste, because there is a lot at stake. It is a challenge because the technical means in our countries are limited. And I think the process of INC will be a pretext for us to resolve this issue.”

The next workshop will be held in Senegal, July 2023, where government officials, industry, NGOs, and civil society stakeholders are invited to participate in a national needs assessment.

Want to learn more about AFRIPAC? Read more here and here.