Hazardous Waste Management
Mandate
The threat posed by hazardous waste management and the need for co-operation among states was mentioned in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975. Since then, the participating States have adopted several OSCE commitments on enhancing their management of hazardous waste and expanding the OSCE’s mandate in supporting efforts to this end, including the OSCE Strategy Document for the Economic and Environmental Dimension (2003). Further to the 2003 Maastricht Strategy Document for the OSCE Economic and Environmental Dimension, some of the most relevant decisions in this area include the Report on Conclusions and Recommendations of the Meeting on the Protection of the Environment of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, Sofia 1989/Vienna 1990; Concluding Document of the Vienna Meeting 1986 of Representatives of the Participating States of the Conference on Security and Co-Operation in Europe, Held on the Basis of the Provisions of the Final Act Relating to the Follow-Up to the Conference.
The role of the OSCE
In Central Asia, the OSCE, together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment, has been supporting the engagement of stakeholders in uranium legacy remediation through the OSCE-supported Aarhus Centres in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The Aarhus Centres are actively involved in raising awareness among the local population about the dangers of such radioactive waste.
In South Caucasus, the OSCE has supported Armenia and Georgia by conducting an assessment of risks related to the hazardous waste accumulated at Soviet-era industrial legacy sites, and assisting with developing practical recommendations to reduce or eliminate these risks.
In Eastern Europe, the OSCE has trained customs officers, border guards and environmental authorities from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine to more effectively prevent the illegal transboundary movement of hazardous waste.
Activities supported by the OSCE in the area of prevention of illegal transboundary movement of hazardous waste additionally support respective participating States with regard to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. The Basel Convention is the most comprehensive global environmental agreement and regulates transboundary movements of hazardous and other waste. Of the 186 parties to the Basel Convention, 54 are OSCE participating States.