Brussels -- At the most recent Basel Convention meeting
in October 2011, 178 countries called for rapidly implementing a full ban on
the export of toxic wastes of all kinds from developed to developing countries.
However, the Basel meeting is pointedly at odds with the European Union’s
recently proposed ship recycling regulation, which seeks to remove ships from
existing legislation that forbids export of hazardous wastes from Europe to
developing countries.
The proposed regulation attempts to substitute existing
rules with far weaker ones under a separate International Maritime Organization
regime known as the Hong Kong Convention. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform notes
that the Hong Kong Convention is not in force and when it does become law can
in no way be seen as a substitute for the Basel Convention. In October 2011, a
majority of the Basel Parties agreed that the Hong Kong Convention does not
provide an equivalent level of protection to especially developing countries as
that provided by the Basel Convention.
“It is sadly ironic that at a time when major
shipbreaking countries such as India and Bangladesh are saying we no longer
wish to have our beaches become the dumping ground for toxic waste ships, the
European Union seems ready to abandon its former export prohibition and say to
these countries, well yes you do!” said Ingvild Jenssen, Director of the NGO
Platform. “The European proposal is sadly an obvious move to give the shipping
industry what they want most – agreement that the Basel Convention will not
apply to them.”
Quelle: NGO Shipbreaking Platform
Source: Recycling Portal. 2 August 2012
http://www.recyclingportal.eu/artikel/29016.shtml
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