IFCS/FSC/05.34 rev1
64TH FORUM STANDING COMMITTEE TELECONFERENCE
13 OCTOBER 2005
FINAL MEETING REPORT
PARTICIPANTS
Member: Officer/Government/Organization
Participants & Advisors
President:
President’s office:
President’s Special
Advisers:
Thailand
Thailand
Dr S. Wibulpoprasert
Ms P. Silkavuth
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Sweden
Canada
Dr G. Bengtsson
Mr R. Hickman
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Tanzania
Nigeria
Philippines
Prof. J. Katima
Mrs A. Olanipekun
Dr E. Nieto
Ms D. Narvarez
Prof. B. Kurlyandskiy
Mr J. Monreal Urrutia
Mr C. Auer
Mr C. Blunck
Mr J. Shoaff
Mr W. Allen
Ms A. Bandemehr
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Mr H. Cavalcanti
Mr M. Sylla
Ms N.F. Mondoh
Ms V. Naidu
Mr S. Mousavi (for
Ambassador S.S.R. Tabatabaei)
Ms Yumiko Nomura
Ms Wenchao Zang
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Vice-Presidents:
Africa:
Adviser to VP Africa:
Asia & Pacific:
CEE:
LAC:
WEOG:
Past President:
Africa Region:
Asia & Pacific:
Russian Federation
Chile
U.S.A.
Brazil
Guinea
Zimbabwe
Fiji
Iran
Japan
China
CEE:
LAC:
WEOG:
Kazakhstan
Slovenia
Costa Rica
Suriname
Australia
Canada
Germany
Mr Z. Bekzhanov
Dr M. Ciraj
Ing F. Paredes
Dr J.F.M. De Kom
Mr M. Hyman
Mr Lee Eeles
Dr S. Clarkson
Dr M. Brownstein
Prof. Dr. U. Schlottmann
Dr M. Kern
Dr G. Karlaganis
Participated
Absent
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IOMC
Chair, IOCC:
IOMC organizations
NGOs
OECD
IOMC Secretariat
UNEP
Industry
Public Interest
Labour
Science
FORUM IV host::
IFCS Secretariat:
Hungary
Dr R. Visser
Dr T. Meredith
Ms C. Vickers
Dr M. Gubb
Ms K. Kunzer
Dr R. Quijano
Mr J. Weinberg
Mr Bjorn Erikson
Dr Irma Makalinao
Prof. R. Awang
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Prof. G. Ungvary
Dr Aranka Hudak
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Dr J.A. Stober
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IFCS/FSC/05.34 rev1
3.0
Introduction
The President welcomed members and other participants to the teleconference. He informed members on
several changes in membership. This was Mark Hyman and Matthias Kern's last FSC teleconference. Mark is
resigning from the Australian Government and his replacement on the FSC will be designated soon. Matthias
Kern has resigned from the GermanTechnicalCooperation (GTZ) to take up a position in UNEP DGEF. The
President thanked Mark and Matthias for the valuable and substantive contributions they have made to the IFCS.
The President welcomed Syed Ali Mohammad Mousavi, Islamic Republic of Iran, who is replacing Ali Reza
Hajzadeh as the advisor to Ambassador Tabatabaei, representative of the Asia-Pacific Region..
3.1
Acceptance of Agenda (IFCS/FSC/05.23)
The proposed agenda was adopted.
3.2
Acceptance of Record of 63rd Meeting (IFCS/FSC/05.22rev1)
The record of the 63rd meeting was accepted.
4.0
SAICM
4.1
SAICM PrepCom3
Review of PrepCom3 outcomes of particular relevance to IFCS and discussion regarding next steps/intersession work prior to ICCM

Institutional and Financial Arrangements (IFCS/FSC/05.32 INF)
M. Hyman provided participants with a general overview of the outcome of SAICM PrepCom3. He noted that the
agenda of the meeting was ambitious and that the documents covering the three SAICM components were
considered in detail. The final plenary was not able to reach agreement on all elements. These would be
negotiated during the ICCM in February 2006. He noted that the entire financial section was in square brackets.
The section in the OPS covering institutional arrangements has been agreed with only the item on dates of future
ICCMs remaining open. The FSC meeting paper presented the agreed arrangements and role of the ICCM for
oversight and review of SAICM. Concerning the future role of IFCS, PrepCom3 gave no clear answer or
direction. A range of views was expressed by participants. J. Weinberg observed that a future role would greatly
depend on the outcome of SAICM and its ability to overcome the difficulties encounter at PrepCom3 and
encompass the rich role that IFCS has played to date.
The President observed that the proposed resolution on IFCS from PrepCom3 for consideration & adoption by
ICCM invites IFCS to continue a role providing a platform for discussing issues of common interest as well as
new and emerging issues. Governments in informal discussions have indicated that they need to be convened in
a session of the Forum to take a decision on this. He stated that while the future role of IFCS remains
unresolved, the FSC has the responsibility to prepare the issue for consideration by Forum V. He asked for views
on a draft being made available for the ICCM. A. Olanipekun supported the preparation of a paper for the ICCM
on the role of IFCS within SAICM in line with the proposed resolution to be presented to ICCM. G. Karlaganis
expressed the view that the ICCM and IFCS are 2 separate entities and the proposal on the future role of IFCS
should be prepared for Forum V. The FSC agreed to prepare a "Thought Starter" on the future role of IFCS for
Forum V.
In response to questions raised, M. Gubb stated that the ICCM would likely be presented with a number of
resolutions for its consideration. The text of the resolutions would be finalized over the first several meeting days
and adopted in the final session along with the other SAICM documents. The process was envisioned to be
similar to that for the Stockholm Convention Conference of Plenipotentiaries.
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The FSC agreed to establish a Working Group to prepare a "Thought Starter" for the FSC face to face meeting
in Budapest 27-29 March 2006. Given the short time between the ICCM and the FSC meeting in March, it was
agreed that work should begin immediately. G. Karlaganis agreed to lead the WG. Members include S. Mousavi
(Iran), B. Erikson (trade unions), J. Weinberg (public interest NGO), and representatives to be designated from
Australia and USA. Argentina and Japan will be invited to participate. The WG may meet in the sidelines of the
ICCM.

Widening Gap (IFCS/FSC/05.30 INF)
S. Mousavi summarized the outcome of SAICM PrepCom3 deliberations concerning the initiative on Addressing
the Widening Gap and the Proposal For A New Initiative To Facilitate Strengthening Country Capacity For The
Sound Management Of Chemicals prepared by an IFCS meeting of experts. The President thanked Iran for its
leadership of the initiative.

INFOCAP (IFCS/FSC/05.31 INF)
M Kern provided a summary of the outcome of SAICM PrepCom3 concerning INFOCAP and the
recommendation to the PrepCom submitted by the FSC. The information is presented in the FSC meeting paper
which may serve as the basis for the report to Forum V on INFOCAP - updated with the final outcome of the
ICCM.
The President referred to the email from M. Kern announcing his resignation as the Chair of the INFOCAP
Steering Group (SG) due to his resignation from GTZ and assuming a new post in UNEP DGEF. The President
stated that it was important that INFOCAP continue until the outcome of the ICCM is known and asked if M.
Kern's replacement on the SG from GTZ would be able to assume the Chairman responsibilities. M. Kern said
that the process of reassigning his responsibilities at GTZ were ongoing and that any national decision on the
new representative to the SG assuming the position of Chair would have to be made in agreement with a number
of ministries. He suggested that the designation of his replacement be put on hold as further work of the SG will
be determined pending the outcome and implementation of SAICM. The SG has been kept informed on the
status. The FSC agreed to consider the matter at its meeting in Budapest 27-29 March 2006.

Other
- SAICM Steering Committee (SC) Meeting (28 October 2005, Rome)
M. Gubb stated that the SC will assess the outcome of PrepCom3 and consider planning issues for the ICCM
at its next meeting (see item 4.2 below). The President indicated that IFCS participation would likely be via
teleconference.
- SAICM Expanded Bureau Meeting 4-5 November 2005 ((Ref. letter from SAICM PrepCom President to IFCS
President dated 3 October 2005)
M. Gubb provided information on the objective and substance of the meeting. The meeting was being
convened by the PrepCom President in order to explore possible avenues for achieving consensus on the
remaining outstanding issues, including scope, the voluntary status of SAICM, financial considerations and
principles and approaches. Participants would be asked to take the outcome of the discussions back to their
regional groups and constituencies. The President stated that IFCS, as one of the three co-convenors, was
invited to send a representative to the meeting and informed the FSC that he designated the Executive
Secretariat to attend.
4.2
ICCM Organization and Arrangements
M. Gubb informed the FSC on several options being considered for organizing the ICCM programme and time
schedule. The scheduling of pre Regional Group meetings was not yet resolved. Discussions on local
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arrangements were ongoing with the local organizers and not all options were yet agreed. Decisions would be
taken in several weeks after the SC and the Expanded Bureau meetings. Invitations to ICCM will be sent to
Ministers of Foreign Affairs the first week in November. Funding was available to support two participants from
developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Nominations for support must be made through
Ministries of Foreign Affairs. The FSC noted the uncertainties concerning the organization and arrangements
and stressed the importance of reaching final decisions as soon as possible.
5.0
Forum V Planning
The President stated that it was important that t he FSC take decisions on the agenda and other issues for
Forum V as soon as possible to ensure a substantive and good programme.
5.1
Theme - further discussion of theme "finalists", decision & next steps
The Secretariat recalled that at its 63rd meeting in Budapest, the FSC agreed that the FV theme should be broad,
to enable flexibility. Several themes were selected as "finalists" for further discussion at the October FSC
teleconference, with preference expressed for "Chemical Safety for a Sustainable World (Agenda for Action)". G.
Bengtsson, supported by S. Mousavi, stated that the terminology "sustainable world" is not understood and
proposed the theme be "Chemical Safety for Sustainable Development". The FSC agreed to the proposal. It was
further agreed that the Opening Session Working Group would be responsible for follow up to ensure that the
theme is incorporated into the opening session.
5.2
Opening Session
The President reviewed the list of names put forward as possible key note speakers at the FSC meeting in
Budapest, June 2005, and asked for further comments on the nominations. A. Hudack informed the FSC that the
Hungarian Head of State had been approached to formally open Forum V but no answer had been received. G.
Bengtsson proposed that in view of the selected theme, chemical safety for sustainable development, the
keynote speaker should be a woman reflecting the strong role women have in the area. He suggested that Nobel
Peace Prize Winner, Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai, be invited. G. Karlaganis advised that
based on recent experience with Wangari Maathai a difficult situation may arise and unexpected circumstances
at the time of Forum V may preclude her participation. B. Erikson suggested that if Wangari Maathai was not
available, there were a number of strong female leaders in India who could be considered or M. Wallström,
European Commissioner, could be invited.
The FSC agreed that the/a keynote speaker should be a woman and that the President should invite Wangari
Maatha as a keynote speaker for Forum V. If she is not available, others suggested will be invited. The
President indicated that he would consult with the Opening Session WG on the number of speakers for the
opening programme and suggested that the Hungarian Head of State could preside over the Opening Session.
5.3
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Plenary/Decision Items (IFCS/FSC/05.29)
Review of proposals submitted (IFCS/FSC/05.25)
The President recalled that the FSC had extensive discussions regarding the proposed plenary items at its 63 rd
meeting in Budapest. There was general agreement that a significant amount of time should be devoted to
discussion of SAICM at FV. The meeting paper (IFCS/FSC/05.29) listing the current plenary/decision items
under consideration shows the status of the proposals on each plenary item.
Proposal for Forum V agenda - Consolidated International Data Base on Hazardous Properties of Substances.
The only written proposal received was submitted by IFCS Vice President for CEE region, B. Kurlyandskiy,
Russian Federation in collaboration with M. Ciraj, Slovenia. A paper distributed by OECD at the SAICM
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PrepCom3 that describes the work OECD is doing on a portal for accessing hazard data (and other data and
information) was included in the papers distributed for the FSC meeting. R. Visser, on behalf of OECD and in
response to a request from the President, agreed to make a presentation at a side event during Forum V to
inform on the development of the repository.
The President asked B. Kurlyandskiy if the work of OECD addressed the issues he was raising. B. Kurlyandskiy
responded that HPV chemicals represent only a small part of the need for data. The proposal addresses the
need for a database for all chemicals in international trade. M. Ciraj supported this stating that in the SAICM
Global Plan of Action (GPA) activities aimed to increase availability and accessability of data on all chemicals. R.
Visser explained that the OECD activity aimed to connect to all existing databases not just those for HPV
chemicals. G. Bengtsson expressed the view that a high profile discussion on the topic at Forum V would be
beneficial.
The Secretariat noted that the SAICM draft GPA included an activity to "Promote the development of an
international register (database) of chemicals which will be easily accessible", but no "actors" (i.e. responsible
stakeholders) were listed for the item. The draft GPA notes that "consensus was not reached on this activity and
further considerations will be required as part of SAICM implementation".
The FSC agreed to include the topic as a plenary discussion item. A Working Group, lead by B. Kurlyandskiy,
was formed to prepare the working paper for Forum V. The paper will be reviewed by the FSC at its face to face
meeting in Budapest in March 2006. M. Ciraj, G. Bengtsson, and R. Visser (OECD) volunteered for the WG. If
and when "actors" are identified in the SAICM GPA they would be invited to join the WG.

GHS - response to President's letter to ECOSOC Sub-Committee
The Secretariat updated the FSC on this item. Following the FSC meeting in June 2005, the President sent an
letter to Ms. Kim Headrick, Chair, UN SCEGHS, expressing the FSC's interest in including GHS either as a
plenary/decision item for Forum V, or as a side-event, and requested that this be brought to the attention of the
UN SCEGHS for consideration at its 11-13 July 2005 meeting. To date, no response has been received to the
letter of the IFCS President. Informal communications indicate that the letter was not presented to the UNECE
GHS Subcommittee for its consideration, but that the UNITAR Programme Advisory Committee (PAG)
considered the letter did not think it would be beneficial to prepare a plenary agenda item for Forum V.

Thought Starter on MDGs as a plenary item
M. Kern provided an update to the FSC. Based on the President's suggestion to invite Jeffrey Sachs of the UN
Millenium Project as key note speaker, he had proposed to the President that the input of Jeffrey Sachs could be
used to trigger the development of concrete recommendations or decisions for the consideration of Forum V. J.
Sachs would bring in the wider view of the global context in which chemical safety has to be placed. He
proposed to the President that he contact J. Sachs and ask him to give input to the opening session of Forum V.
The MDG WG would brief J. Sachs about the chemical safety issue by giving him indications of the direct impact
of chemical safety to the MDGs, not only in environment protection but particularly also with respect to health,
water, income, etc. The interest of J. Sachs may be obtained by mentioning the economic importance of the
chemical industry worldwide. The paper prepared by G. Bengtsson, K. Kunzer and M. Kern might be a starting
point, but has to be developed much further in concrete terms.
The President noted the FSC decision that the/a keynote speaker should be a woman and to invite Wangari
Maatha as a keynote speaker for Forum V and proposed that J. Sachs be asked to prepare a document as a
Forum V plenary decision item. He will be meeting with J. Sach's in November and could discuss the matter with
him then. The FSC agreed to the proposal.
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If further work is to be done on the MDG paper, then a replacement lead for M. Kern may need to be designated.
If J. Sach's agrees to prepare a paper or supervise the preparation by his staff, then the MDG WG role would be
an advisory one.

Side Events
Please note that side events and exhibits do not typically require FSC approval/agreement, as they are not
sponsored or sanctioned by the FSC. The IFCS Secretariat only facilitates the organization of these events in a
limited way, e.g. communication with host government, scheduling.
Heavy Metals
G. Karlaganis informed the FSC on his plans to contact the individuals who expressed and interest in organizing
a side event at Forum V on heavy metals to have follow up discussions. He will prepare a brief thought starter
outlining the proposed objective and content of the side event. The paper will be distributed to the list of
interested parties and a teleconference to discuss may be organized if needed. He requested that the IOMC
organizations consider the proposal and their participation at their meeting on 27-28 October 2005. He and the
group will report back to the FSC at a future teleconference.
World Library of Toxicology (WLT)
The Secretariat referred members to the meeting information paper submitted by Philip Wexler, Toxicology and
Environmental Health Information Program, National Library of Medicine (NLM), USA. A Forum V side event is
proposed to present the prototype of the NLM portal to global information resources in the broad areas of
toxicology, chemical safety and environmental health, including ancillary subjects such as occupational safety
and health, risk analysis, and radiation. P. Wexler organized a side event at Forum IV present a range of NLM
information sources.
5.4
Time Schedule for Forum V (IFCS/FSC/05.14rev1)
The FSC agreed at its June 2005 meeting that Forum V working days will be Sunday, 24 September - Friday, 29
September. Pre-meetings of the regions will be held on either Sunday, 24 th or Monday, 25th September,
depending on the final decision on when the opening session will be held. The President proposed that the time
schedule for Forum V be decided after final decisions on the Opening Session and plenary decisions items were
taken. The FSC concurred.
5.5
Time Schedule for Forum V preparations (IFCS/FSC/05.15rev1)
The Secretariat has completed the time schedule with the actions and dates decided on at the 63rd meeting.
The FSC was asked to review the proposed schedule, as an ongoing working document. The FSC future
meeting schedule will be updated as needed on an ongoing basis.
6.0
Financial Report (IFCS/FSC/05.33)
- Status & Contingency planning
The Secretariat presented the report detailing of financial situation and requested the FSC to consider efforts to
raise the funds needed to provide the secretariat and the twinning support through Forum V. She emphasized
the current critical funding status and that the current balance in the IFCS Trust Fund is sufficient to support the
IFCS secretariat only through 31 May 2006. To maintain a functioning Secretariat and operations through Forum
V (i.e. calendar year 2006) approximately 325 000 USD is needed by 1 March 2006. In addition it is estimated
that 350 000 USD needs to be raised to support developing countries and CIET countries participation in Forum
V.
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Several FSC members expressed optimism that the required funds could be raised, others cautioned that a
realistic view should be taken given recent funding trends and the FSC needed to consider various ways to
ensure that Forum V would go forward. G. Karlaganis stated that Switzerland would try to find funds for an
additional contribution in 2005. He proposed that the FSC consider instituting a Forum conference fee with
developed country participants asked to cover the fees for developing country participants. The Secretariat
recalled that prior to an earlier Forum session the FSC had considered establishing a conference fee, but
decided against doing so in light of the negative impact it would have on participation. She also noted that fees
typically go to covering local costs and the for Forum session these costs are paid fully by the host government.
As discussed at previous FSC meetings, the Secretariat urged members to consider possible contingency plans
for alternative secretariat and administrative arrangements if Trust Fund contributions are insufficient to maintain
secretariat through 2006 to support the organization of Forum V. The IFCS President has the responsibility, in
consultation and agreement with the FSC, to make the arrangements for the secretariat and administrative
services required for the IFCS.
The President advised that the fundraising letter be sent now and the FSC discuss this issue again in the next
teleconference as well as the March face to face meeting of the FSC, if the situation is not resolved.
- Fundraising Appeal Letter
At the 63rd meeting, the FSC agreed that a funding appeal letter should be sent following PrepCom3 preferably in
October after the outcome of SAICM PrepCom3 is known, but no later than end November. A draft funding
request letter was provided in the meeting paper. No comments on the letter were made.
7.0
Elder Professor Service for Sustainability and Chemical Safety (IFCS/FSC/05.28 INF)
U. Schlottmann referred to the information paper that had been distributed for the teleconference and informed
members that UNESCO had been contact to explore interest and opportunities for collaboration in the activity.
He would update the FSC at future meetings on progress. This topic will likely be an information item at Forum V,
either in the President's Progress Report or as a separate paper.
8.0
Other Business
No other business was brought forward. The President noted that the following items, which were on the agenda
in Budapest, but were not discussed (or, not finalized) would need to be taken up at a later teleconference, or at
the next face-to-face meeting:
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9.0
Reports requested by Forum IV
Conduct of business in Plenary
Communication and Media for FV
Next Meeting
The FSC agreed it would be beneficial to schedule a teleconference in January 2006 prior to the ICCM during
the period 17 - 27 January 2006. It also agreed a teleconference should be scheduled for the week of the 20
February 2006 when the outcome of the ICCM will be known to prepare for the FSC work at its face to face
meeting in Budapest 27-29 March 2006 when the agenda & programme for Forum V must be finalized. The
Secretariat will contact members to determine availability and to set the meeting dates.
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