Mandate
Pursuant to Article 4 of the Rotterdam Convention, each Party is required to designate one or more national authorities that shall be authorized to act on its behalf in the performance of the administrative functions required by the Convention.
Parties are required to inform the Secretariat of the name and address of such authority or authorities to the Secretariat no later than the date of entry into force of the Convention for that Party. Any changes in the name and address of such authority or authorities shall also be notified to the Secretariat. Rapid transmission of this information supports the effective transmission of information to, from and between Parties, as well as other stakeholders (as appropriate), in relation to the Convention.
Role
A Designated National Authority (DNA) is a key contact point for matters related to the Convention for other Parties and the Secretariat. It makes possible the dissemination of information concerning the provision of the Convention to the relevant government departments, as well as to other partners such as export and importing industries and customs officers.
The DNA is responsible for providing information to the Secretariat and to other participating countries as required by the Convention.
Article 4 of the Rotterdam Convention also requires each Party seek to ensure that such authority or authorities have sufficient resources to perform their tasks effectively.
The Secretariat informs the Parties of the notifications of the DNAs it receives (Article 4 paragraph 4) through the Convention website and together with each PIC Circular (every June and December).
Responsibilities
The DNA for a Party has a number of responsibilities that are described in articles 5, 6, 10, 12, 13 and 14. These include:
-
Notifying the Secretariat of final regulatory actions (Article 5)
When a country becomes a Party, it submits notifications of final regulatory actions in effect at that time, usually through the DNA. Parties then have the obligation to notify the Secretariat when a final regulatory action is taken. To achieve this, the DNA must be aware of regulatory actions that are taken by the government. The DNA needs to determine whether the action is a final regulatory action as defined by the Convention.
Such notifications should be submitted as soon as possible and in any event no later than ninety days after the date on which the final regulatory action has taken effect.
The Secretariat has developed an online interactive form to assist DNAs with the submissions of notifications of final regulatory actions.
-
Submitting proposals for severely hazardous pesticide formulations (Article 6)
Any Party that is a developing country or country with an economy in transition and that is experiencing problems caused by a severely hazardous pesticide formulation under local conditions may propose to the Secretariat the listing of that formulation in Annex III of the Convention.
The Secretariat has developed forms to assist with reporting of human health and environmental incidents involving severely hazardous pesticide formulations.
-
Providing import responses to chemicals subject to the PIC procedure (Article 10)
Import responses are to be submitted for each chemical listed in Annex III and subject to the PIC procedure. Import responses indicate whether a Party will consent to the future import of the chemical.
There is an online interactive form to assist DNAs with the submission of import responses.
-
Communicating import responses to stakeholders in the country (Articles 10 and 11)
DNAs are informed of all import responses from all countries that are Party to the Convention through the PIC Circular every 6 months. DNAs are expected to disseminate this information to those concerned within their national jurisdiction, namely all relevant agencies that may be involved in the regulation, production and trade of chemicals in the country, e.g. government departments, manufacturers, export industries, etc..
This is to enable those entities to take the appropriate actions to ensure that exports do not occur contrary to the import responses of other Parties.
-
Sending and acknowledging export notifications (Article 12)
When a Party has banned or severely restricted a chemical but then exports it, the Convention requires that:
- prior to the first export after adoption of the final regulatory action and
- from then on, before the first export in any calendar year
The DNA of the exporting Party must send an export notification to the DNA of the importing Party. The DNA of the importing Party must acknowledge receipt of the export notification.
DNAs are also responsible for sending updated export notifications and carrying out other actions under Article 12.
The Secretariat has developed a form to assist in the process of sending and acknowledging export notifications.
The Convention has a number of information exchange provisions, including information to accompany exported chemicals and general information exchange.
The DNA receives information from the Secretariat and from Parties and is responsible for distributing the information nationally.
The DNA has also the responsibility to respond the requests for information from the Secretariat or from other Parties.
Frequency of designation
Rapid transmission of this information supports the effective transmission of information to, from and between Parties, as well as other stakeholders (as appropriate), in relation to the Convention.
Format
The sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention (May 2013) adopted a revised harmonized form for notifications of contacts to the Secretariat, including any modifications or additions as they occur. This form was also submitted to and adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention at its eleventh meeting and the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention at its sixth meeting. The form has been harmonized and may be used to transmit information on designated contacts in accordance with the provisions of the Basel, Rotterdam and/or Stockholm conventions. This is intended to facilitate transmission of information to the Secretariat while respecting the legal autonomy of each Convention.
This form is available in all six official United Nations languages and can be downloaded in English, French or Spanish.
Procedures and processes of the Secretariat
Parties are requested to send the form duly completed to the Secretariat by fax (+41 (0)22 917 8098) or e-mail (contacts@brsmeas.org). It is important to note that self-nominations will not be considered.
The form must be completed by an entity duly authorized by the Government to communicate such information to the Secretariat, such as the permanent mission to the United Nations or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The information transmitted will be included in the official records of the Secretariat as well as on the website of the Rotterdam Convention (www.pic.int), as the officially Designated National Authority(ies) for the purposes of Article 4 of the Convention.
List of Designated National Authorities
Please click here to access the list of designated national authorities.