Are Belgium and the Netherlands in breach of their international obligations under the Basel Convention and customary international law due to their export of high sulfur fuels to certain developing countries in Africa that are Parties of the Bamako Convention?

The document argues that Belgium and the Netherlands are in breach of international law by exporting high sulfur fuels to West African states, specifically those party to the Bamako Convention. It concludes that these fuels qualify as hazardous wastes under the Bamako Convention and, by extension, under the Basel Convention for countries with monist legal systems. The report asserts that such exports violate the Basel Convention's prohibition on exporting hazardous wastes to parties that have banned their import, breach customary international law by frustrating the treaty's purpose, and violate extraterritorial human rights obligations regarding the right to health.

• High sulfur fuels meet all criteria to be classified as "hazardous wastes" under the Bamako Convention because they are substances banned in the country of manufacture (the EU) for health and environmental reasons.
• In Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, and Togo, high sulfur fuels are considered hazardous wastes under the Basel Convention because these countries operate under monist constitutional systems that incorporate the Bamako Convention's definitions into domestic law.
• The export of high sulfur fuels from Belgium and the Netherlands to the aforementioned monist Basel Parties is a direct violation of the Basel Convention, which prohibits exporting hazardous wastes to Parties that have banned their import.
• Under international customary law, Belgium and the Netherlands are in breach for exporting high sulfur fuels to any Bamako Party, as this conduct undermines the ability of other Parties to fulfill their treaty obligations.
• The failure of Belgium and the Netherlands to ban the export of high sulfur fuels to any African country, including non-Bamako Parties, constitutes a breach of international human rights obligations and the extraterritorial right to health.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2017). Are Belgium and the Netherlands in breach of their international obligations under the Basel Convention and customary international law due to their export of high sulfur fuels to certain developing countries in Africa that are Parties of the Bamako Convention? https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Legal-opinion-Dirty-fuels-31_01_2017.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Are Belgium and the Netherlands in breach of their international obligations under the Basel Convention and customary international law due to their export of high sulfur fuels to certain developing countries in Africa that are Parties of the Bamako Convention? 2017. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Legal-opinion-Dirty-fuels-31_01_2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Are Belgium and the Netherlands in breach of their international obligations under the Basel Convention and customary international law due to their export of high sulfur fuels to certain developing countries in Africa that are Parties of the Bamako Convention? |date=31 January 2017 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Legal-opinion-Dirty-fuels-31_01_2017.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2017are, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Are Belgium and the Netherlands in breach of their international obligations under the Basel Convention and customary international law due to their export of high sulfur fuels to certain developing countries in Africa that are Parties of the Bamako Convention?}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2017}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Legal-opinion-Dirty-fuels-31_01_2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }