Protocol on Liability and Compensation for Damage Resulting from Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal

Abstract

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (hereafter: Basel Convention) was adopted in 1989. It was a reaction to heightened international awareness of the exponential growth of hazardous waste being produced and the risks it presented to human health, property and the environment while being transported around the globe. The Basel Convention primarily aims to minimise the generation and transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and to keep risks at a tolerable level. It was also a response to the practice of exporting increasing amounts of hazardous waste from the Global North to the Global South. Hence, the Convention is supposed to address concerns regarding environmental justice which arise when industrialised countries profit by exploiting the precarious economic positions of nations in the Global South. Economically challenged countries may accordingly be under pressure to prioritise economic development over environmental concerns when they are offered foreign payments in exchange for accepting toxic waste shipments. By dealing with the disproportionately large share of the burden regarding hazardous waste developing nations face, the Basel Convention has been touted as one of the international agreements at the forefront of integrating environmental justice principles into global trade.