Bamako Convention

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Bamako Convention: a short, easy-to-understand version

The Bamako Convention is an African Union treaty that bans the import of hazardous wastes into Africa and controls their movement and management within the continent. It was signed in Bamako, Mali, on January 30, 1991, and became effective on April 22, 1998, after at least 10 signatories ratified it.

Key points
- Parties: 27 member states
- Depositary: Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity
- Languages: Arabic, English, French, Portuguese

Why it was created
- It arose because the Basel Convention did not stop rich countries from exporting toxic waste to Africa.
- A notable case in 1987 involved Nigeria receiving 18,000 barrels of hazardous waste from Italian companies, which caused protests and shipments being halted.

What the convention does
- It prohibits all imports of hazardous waste into Africa and its transboundary movement and management within Africa.
- It does not allow exceptions for hazardous wastes, including radioactive materials, as some other treaties do.

COP 1 (First Conference of the Parties)
- Held: June 24–26, 2013, in Bamako
- Outcome: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) would carry out the Bamako Convention Secretariat functions.
- Parties agreed to strengthen ties with the secretariats of the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions.

Participants at COP 1
- Attending parties: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia
- Observers: Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Zambia