7 June 2004
Original: English
SAICM PrepCom2
Thought Starter on Vision, Goal and Objectives
PREPARED BY THE IFCS FORUM STANDING COMMITTEE
The IFCS Bahia Declaration and Priorities for Action Beyond 2000 have been endorsed
as the foundation for the further development of a strategic approach to international
chemicals management (SAICM), and IFCS and others have been explicitly requested to
closely cooperate in the development of SAICM. IFCS provided input to PrepCom 1 in
the form of a broad Thought Starter. The present Thought Starter is the IFCS Standing
Committee input for PrepCom 2. It addresses two of the ten subject headings suggested
by the President of the PrepCom as an aid in the Committee’s deliberations.
This Thought Starter is an attempt to facilitate the SAICM PrepCom2 discussions by
raising some possible options for potential approaches in considering the political
strategic vision, goals and objectives and providing examples to illustrate these options.
T h i s d o c u m e nt d o es n o t a t t e m p t t o p ri o r i t i z e o r c h o o s e a n o u t c o m e .
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Political strategic vision
SAICM has a time horizon of 2020, as set out in the Johannesburg World Summit
on Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation. A political strategic vision for
SAICM could be drafted in several different ways. It could be short and inspirational, and
have a character distinct from that of the Johannesburg target for 2020 while being
consistent with it. It could describe chemical safety in 2020, for example as follows:
 it could set out the impacts of
chemicals in 2020, that is, the level
or absence of impacts on human
health and the environment;
 it could identify an intended state or
condition of the environment, such
as levels of chemicals found in the
environment (e.g. that synthetic
chemicals in particular hazard
classes are not found in the wider
environment and that naturally
occurring chemicals such as metals
are at or near background);
 it could describe how chemicals are
managed, that is, the completeness
or effectiveness of their management
(e.g. concerning chemical safety
institutions and practices, legislation,
monitoring, information,
coordination and collaboration,
industry commitments, and use
conditions and practices);
 it could set out the balance achieved
in chemicals management (e.g. that
decisions involving chemical safety
are made with a good balance
between risks and benefits).
Example 1
By the year 2020, we envisage a world in which
chemicals are produced and managed so that:
 the health of even the most vulnerable does not
suffer significant adverse impacts; and
 there is no loss of ecosystems, biological
communities or species as a result of chemical
exposures.
Example 2
By the year 2020, we live in a world where
 food, water, air and biota rarely contain
chemical pollutants that might harm human
health or the environment
 farmers, workers and communities are rarely
harmed by exposure to chemicals that are used
or produced in farms, factories and other
facilities
Example 3
Even shorter statements, such as
 Chemical safety for all, all for chemical safety
by 2020
 Chemical safety for all by 2020
 A chemically safe world by 2020
 A world with minimised chemical risks by
2020
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Other questions that might also influence how the political strategic vision should be
worded include:
 How ambitious should the Vision be? Should it be ambitious to drive all players
to achieve the best possible outcome? Should it be realistic to ensure that
expectations are not unduly raised? (One option is to be more ambitious in some
parts of the Vision, Goal and Objectives, and less in others, so as to achieve
balance, e.g. an ambitious or idealistic Vision and a more pragmatic Goal.)
 How does the 2020 target set by the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation fit in
with the Vision (and the Goals and Objectives)?
 Is it important or useful to envisage the role that chemicals will play in society,
e.g. should the Vision recall the perspective that chemicals contribute to society
but in some cases pose risks that must be managed?
The political strategic vision could also be drafted as a broad picture of what we think
the world would be like if chemicals were well managed.
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Goal and objectives
PrepCom 1 agreed “that the goal stated in the chapeau of paragraph 23 of the
Johannesburg Summit Plan of Implementation, that by 2020 chemicals are used and
produced in ways that lead to the minimization of significant adverse effects on human
health and the environment, should be considered as the over-arching goal of SAICM. It
was pointed out that the chapeau of paragraph 23 addressed two other notable aspects:
advancement of the sound management of chemicals for sustainable development and
enhancement of the capacity of developing countries.”( SAICM PrepCom 1 Final Report
para 53. For reference the full Johannesburg wording is included as Annex 1.)
Several suggestions were made at PrepCom 1 regarding objectives for the
SAICM. These varied in level of generality and approach, and together they fall short of
a complete ‘set’ addressing the usual aspects of chemical safety. The debate on goals and
objectives at PrepCom 2 and any subsequent meetings will flesh out the ‘set’, but it may
be helpful to the meeting to group them under a small number of headings to help
organise delegates’ thinking.
An obvious starting point would be to use the six Programme Areas from Chapter
19 of Agenda 21 (Risk assessment, Harmonisation of classification and labelling,
Information exchange, Risk reduction, Capacity building, and Illegal traffic). A
disadvantage of this approach is that some of the Programme Areas devised in 1992 do
not have the same time horizon as others, and not all will be equally relevant in 2020.
One alternative would be to group the Programme Areas more broadly under four
headings:
 Knowledge and Information (embracing both the generation of information and
its flow among interested parties)
 Risk management (reduction) (covering all action to reduce risks, such as
regulatory action, constraints on use, protection of occupational health and safety,
bans and phase-outs)
 Governance (including decision-making systems and processes, compliance and
enforcement, cooperation and coordination, public participation, efficiency of
decision-making).
 Capability or Capacity Building (including points relating to the skills,
infrastructure and financial resources needed to deliver the goal).
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Example of a method for constructing objectives
Following the above suggested model (grouping objectives under four headings and
setting them in general terms) objectives might be set out along the lines below (the
suggestions are illustrative rather than exhaustive).
Knowledge and information
Objectives about
 availability of information for decision-making
 flow of information among countries and the community, considering issues such
a balance between the public right to know and the need to protect confidential
business information
 availability of knowledge and information to directly improve chemical safety,
e.g. for the development of less hazardous substitutes for hazardous chemicals;
and to classify and label chemicals
Risk management (reduction)
Objectives about
 eliminating or reducing human health risks associated with particular classes of
chemicals (e.g. carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductive toxic chemicals)
 protecting vulnerable groups, e.g. children, the elderly, workers
 reducing or eliminating risks to the wider environment from particular classes of
chemicals (e.g. pesticide risks to non-target organisms)
 avoiding risks associated with particular activities, e.g. chemical accidents
Governance
Objectives about:
 universality and completeness of regulatory and enforcement systems
 use of science-based decision-making, including management of uncertainty
 public involvement and participation in decision-making
 levels of compliance with national and international law, including relating to
transboundary movements of chemicals
 efficiency and cost-effectiveness of regulatory systems, including harmonisation
of data gathering and risk assessment, management and communication
 integration of chemical safety considerations into other aspects of policy
 cooperation and coordination among bodies responsible for chemical safety
 mechanisms for monitoring and measuring progress
Capability or Capacity Building
Objectives about

levels and distribution of skills and skilled people

availability of physical infrastructure such as laboratories and equipment

the provision of technical and financial assistance and technology transfer to
developing countries and countries with economies in transition
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Some concrete illustrations to potential objectives are given in Annex 2.
There are other questions that also need to be resolved, including:
 At what level of generality should the objectives be pitched?
 How and at what level should indicators of progress be included?
Many delegations raised issues at SAICM PrepCom1 about the need for measurable
indicators, or for concrete targets and timeframes, and subsequent PrepComs will need to
decide whether and how to take up these calls. While these issues are therefore a matter
for debate by delegates, one option would be to set the objectives generally and leave the
identification of measures of progress to the concrete actions. The concrete actions that
will make up most of the SAICM would according to this model be framed more
specifically and in a way that allows measurement of progress, so that the actions can be
updated as circumstances change or new challenges arise, while the objectives remain
relevant over the longer term.
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Annex 1.
WORLD SUMMITT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
PLAN OF IMPLEMENTATION
III. Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production
*******
23. Renew the commitment, as advanced in Agenda 21, to sound management of
chemicals throughout their life cycle and of hazardous wastes for sustainable
development as well as for the protection of human health and the environment, inter alia,
aiming to achieve, by 2020, that chemicals are used and produced in ways that lead to the
minimization of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment, using
transparent science-based risk assessment procedures and science-based risk management
procedures, taking into account the precautionary approach, as set out in principle 15 of
the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and support developing countries
in strengthening their capacity for the sound management of chemicals and hazardous
wastes by providing technical and financial assistance. This would include actions at all
levels to:
(a) Promote the ratification and implementation of relevant international
instruments on chemicals and hazardous waste, including the Rotterdam Convention on
Prior Informed Consent Procedures for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in
International Trade10 so that it can enter into force by 2003 and the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants11 so that it can enter into force by 2004, and
encourage and improve coordination as well as supporting developing countries in their
implementation;
(b) Further develop a strategic approach to international chemicals management
based on the Bahia Declaration and Priorities for Action beyond 2000 of the
Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety12 by 2005, and urge that the United
Nations Environment Programme, the Intergovernmental Forum, other international
organizations dealing with chemical management and other relevant international
organizations and actors closely cooperate in this regard, as appropriate;
(c) Encourage countries to implement the new globally harmonized system for the
classification and labelling of chemicals as soon as possible with a view to having the
system fully operational by 2008;
(d) Encourage partnerships to promote activities aimed at enhancing
environmentally sound management of chemicals and hazardous wastes, implementing
multilateral environmental agreements, raising awareness of issues relating to chemicals
and hazardous waste and encouraging the collection and use of additional scientific data;
(e) Promote efforts to prevent international illegal trafficking of hazardous
chemicals and hazardous wastes and to prevent damage resulting from the transboundary
movement and disposal of hazardous wastes in a manner consistent with obligations
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under relevant international instruments, such as the Basel Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal;13
(f) Encourage development of coherent and integrated information on chemicals,
such as through national pollutant release and transfer registers;
(g) Promote reduction of the risks posed by heavy metals that are harmful to
human health and the environment, including through a review of relevant studies, such
as the United Nations Environment Programme global assessment of mercury and its
compounds.
VIII. Sustainable development for Africa
68. Achieve sound management of chemicals, with particular focus on hazardous
chemicals and wastes, inter alia, through initiatives to assist African countries in
elaborating national chemical profiles and regional and national frameworks and
strategies for chemical management and establishing chemical focal points.
13
United Nations Treaty Series, vol. 1673, No. 28911
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Annex 2. Examples of potential objectives
Information and Knowledge
Knowledge and information are not a constraint on chemical safety
 information is available on all chemicals on the market and there is a free flow of
safety-related information about chemicals among countries and the public
 research and monitoring delivers information to enable chemicals to be managed
with confidence and innovation to replace risky applications with less risky ones
 educational methods are developed for all academic levels in chemical safety)
Risk management (reduction)
No chemicals presenting risks that cannot be confidently managed remain on the
market;
All other risks are managed so that any exposures do not result in significant adverse
impacts, including from
 pesticide use (no poisonings; minimal impacts on non-target organisms)
 occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals
 exposures of vulnerable populations, eg children, the elderly
 chemical accidents
Governance
Sound, effective, efficient chemical safety institutions, infrastructure and practices
 all countries have well developed regulatory systems using science-based
decision-making including management of uncertainties
 chemical safety considerations are routinely, cooperatively, and consistently
applied in all relevant organisations, in all relevant sectors, and at all levels of
government including for multilateral environmental agreements
 all sections of the community can access information about chemicals and
participate in decisions about chemicals
 national and international laws on chemicals are enforced and there is a very high
level of compliance with them, and with informal rules such as codes of conduct
 indicators have been developed and applied to provide robust measures of
progress on chemical safety
 chemical safety is delivered cost-effectively to the community through burden
sharing and cooperation
 risks and benefits are balanced
Capability or Capacity Building
 Bridge the widening gap between countries' capacities for sound chemicals
management
 Develop sustainable capacity building strategies for sound chemicals management
in developing countries and countries with economies in transition
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