The Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade is a multilateral agreement. The agreement provides obligations on the import and export of certain hazardous chemicals.
Parties are empowered, through virtue of membership, to make informed decisions about the chemicals they want to receive, and to exclude those they believe they cannot manage safely. The convention’s objective is to promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts among parties in the international trade of these chemicals to protect human health and the environment and contribute to the environmentally sound use of chemicals.
Prior Informed Consent (PIC)
It is a mechanism for formally obtaining and disseminating the decisions of importing Parties as to whether they wish to receive future shipments of those chemicals listed in Annex III of the Convention and for ensuring compliance with these decisions by exporting Parties.
