Languages of the UN Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade

The official languages of the UN Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention are English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Russian.

The Rotterdam Convention aims to promote the safe and environmentally sound use of hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade, reduce the risk of accidents involving hazardous chemicals and pesticides, facilitate the exchange of information on hazardous chemicals and pesticides, and promote the development of safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals and pesticides.

The Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure is a procedure that requires exporters of hazardous chemicals and pesticides to obtain the consent of importing countries before shipping the chemicals.

Glyphosate is not a hazardous chemical covered by the Rotterdam Convention.

2,4-D is not a pesticide covered by the Rotterdam Convention.

As of 2023, 210 countries have ratified the Rotterdam Convention.

The Rotterdam Convention entered into force on 24 February 2004.

The Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Rolph Payet is the current Executive Secretary of the Rotterdam Convention.

The website of the Rotterdam Convention is www.pic.int.

The Rotterdam Convention's logo is a globe with a green leaf on it.

The Rotterdam Convention's motto is 'Protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and pesticides'.

The Rotterdam Convention's vision is 'A world where hazardous chemicals and pesticides are used safely and sustainably, human health and the environment are protected from the harmful effects of hazardous chemicals and pesticides, the risks associated with hazardous chemicals and pesticides are minimized, and the benefits of hazardous chemicals and pesticides outweigh the risks'.

The Rotterdam Convention's mission is 'To promote the safe and environmentally sound use of hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade, reduce the risk of accidents involving hazardous chemicals and pesticides, facilitate the exchange of information on hazardous chemicals and pesticides, and promote the development of safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals and pesticides'.

The main challenges facing the Rotterdam Convention are the lack of political will to implement the Convention, the lack of financial resources to implement the Convention, the lack of technical capacity to implement the Convention, and the lack of public awareness of the Convention.