Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import to Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa

BAMAKO CONVENTION ON THE BAN OF THE IMPORT TO AFRICA AND THE CONTROL OF TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF HAZARDOUS WASTES WITHIN AFRICA

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# PREAMBLE

The Parties to this Convention,

1. Mindful of the growing threat to human health and the environment posed by the increased generation and the complexity of hazardous wastes,

1. Further mindful that the most effective way of protecting human health and the environment from the dangers posed by such wastes is the reduction of their generation to a minimum in terms of quantity and/or hazard potential,

1. Aware of the risk of damage to human health and the environment caused by transboundary movements of hazardous wastes,

1. Reiterating that States should ensure that the generator should carry out his responsibilities with regard to the transport and disposal of hazardous wastes in a manner that is consistent with the protection of human health and environment, whatever the place of disposal,

1. Recalling relevant Chapter of the Charter of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on Environmental Protection, the African Charter for Human and Peoples’ Rights, Chapter IX of the Lagos Plan of Action and other Recommendations adopted by the Organization of African Unity on the environment,

1. Further recognizing the sovereignty of States to ban the importation into, and the transit through, their territory, of hazardous wastes and substances for human health and environmental reasons,

1. Recognizing also the increasing mobilization in Africa for the prohibition of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal in African countries,

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1. Convinced that hazardous wastes should, as far as is compatible with environmentally sound and efficient management, be disposed in the State where they were generated,

1. Convinced that the effective control and minimization of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes will act as an incentive, in Africa and elsewhere, for the reduction of the volume of the generation of such wastes,

1. Noting that a number of international and regional agreements deal with the problem of the protection and preservation of the environment with regard to the transit of dangerous goods,