The Bamako Convention (in full: Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa) is a

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n nations prohibiting the import of any hazardous (including

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

)

waste Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor Value (economics), economic value. A wast ...

. The convention was negotiated by twelve nations of the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; , OUA) was an African intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and ec ...

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

in January, 1991, and came into force in 1998. Impetus for the Bamako Convention arose from the failure of the Basel Convention to prohibit

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

of hazardous waste to less developed countries (LDCs), and from the realization that many developed nations were exporting toxic wastes to Africa. This impression was strengthened by several prominent cases. One important case, which occurred in 1987, concerned the importation into

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

of of hazardous waste from the Italian companies Ecomar and Jelly Wax, which had agreed to pay local farmer Sunday Nana $100 per month for storage. The barrels, found in storage in the port of Koko, contained toxic waste including

polychlorinated biphenyl Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula Carbon, C12Hydrogen, H10−''x''Chloride, Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectri ...

s, and their eventual shipment back to Italy led to protests closing three Italian

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

s. The Bamako Convention uses a format and language similar to that of the Basel Convention, but is much stronger in prohibiting all imports of hazardous waste. Additionally, it does not make exceptions on certain hazardous wastes (like those for

materials) made by the Basel Convention.

Bamako Conference

The first Conference of the Parties to the Bamako Convention convened from 24 to 26 June 2013 at Bamako, Mali. During the conference, parties agreed that the United Nations Environmental Programme would carry out the Bamako Convention Secretariat functions. Parties also resolved to encourage the Secretariat of the Bamako Convention to strengthen its ties with the Secretariat of the Basel,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Conventions. The following parties to the Bamako Convention attended COP 1: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia. In addition, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria and Zambia participated as observers.

References

External links

Text of the Convention
*
List of Countries which have Signed, Ratified/Acceded

Basel Action Network

{{Authority control Waste treaties Chemical safety Treaties concluded in 1991 Treaties entered into force in 1998 African Union treaties Hazardous waste 1991 in Mali 1998 in the environment Treaties of Benin Treaties of Burkina Faso Treaties of Burundi Treaties of Cameroon Treaties of Ivory Coast Treaties of the Comoros Treaties of the Republic of the Congo Treaties of Zaire Treaties of Egypt Treaties of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia Treaties of Gabon Treaties of the Gambia Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Treaties of Mali Treaties of Mozambique Treaties of Mauritius Treaties of Niger Treaties of Senegal Treaties of the Republic of the Sudan (1985–2011) Treaties of Tanzania Treaties of Togo Treaties of Tunisia Treaties of Uganda Treaties of Zimbabwe History of Bamako

Bamako Conference

See also

References

External links