Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal

This document is an excerpt from the Government Gazette of South Africa, dated 8 March 2010, presenting the preamble and the first article of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. It outlines the international agreement's goals to protect human health and the environment by reducing the generation of hazardous wastes and strictly controlling their movement across borders.

• The Convention identifies the reduction of hazardous waste generation to a minimum in terms of quantity and hazard potential as the most effective method for protecting the environment and human health.
• The agreement establishes that hazardous wastes should ideally be disposed of in the State where they were generated, provided this is compatible with efficient and environmentally sound management.
• The Convention recognizes the sovereign right of any State to prohibit the entry or disposal of foreign hazardous wastes and other wastes within its own territory.
• The scope of the Convention defines 'hazardous wastes' as those belonging to categories in Annex I (unless they lack characteristics in Annex III) or those defined as hazardous by the domestic legislation of the exporting, importing, or transit Party.
• Radioactive wastes are explicitly excluded from the scope of the Basel Convention because they are subject to other specific international control systems and instruments.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2010). Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/1999/01/Basel-Convention.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. 2010. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/1999/01/Basel-Convention.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal |date=8 March 2010 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/1999/01/Basel-Convention.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2010basel, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2010}, month = mar, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/1999/01/Basel-Convention.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }