In its Article 3, paragraphs 3 and 4, the Stockholm Convention focuses on regulatory and assessment schemes related to measures to reduce or eliminate releases from intentional production and use.
In Article 3, paragraph 3, it states that "Each Party that has one or more regulatory and assessment schemes for new pesticides or new industrial chemicals shall take measures to regulate with the aim of preventing the production and use of new pesticides or new industrial chemicals which, taking into consideration the criteria in paragraph 1 of Annex D, exhibit the characteristics of persistent organic pollutants".
Further, in Article 3, paragraph 4, it states that "Each Party that has one or more regulatory and assessment schemes for pesticides or industrial chemicals shall, where appropriate, take into consideration within these schemes the criteria in paragraph 1 of Annex D when conducting assessments of pesticides or industrial chemicals currently in use".
In order to promote this requirement of the Convention, the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee of the Stockholm Convention (POPRC)requested the Secretariat to seek information from Parties and observers on the functioning of those schemes. To collect such information, the Secretariat has developed specific questionnaires for Parties and observers (available above).
The Committee will discuss the result of this survey at its sixth meeting to be held on 11-15 October 2010 and will report on the outcome to the Conference of the Parties at its fifth meeting (25-29 April 2011).