Operation of intersessional Task Groups (TGs)

Why intersessional TGs?

• Not feasible for the CRC to initiate a detailed review of the

notifications or proposals and supporting documentation in the

time available at its annual meeting

• Intersessional task groups undertake a preliminary review of

notification before the CRC meets

• The work of the intersessional Task Group does not replace

the requirement for each of the candidate chemicals or

SHPFs to be considered by the full Committee.

• Pre-structured information in TG report facilitates preparation

of rationale at CRC

Operation of intersessional task groupsRole and mandate

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Membership and composition

• Task Groups consist of one to two coordinators and a

representative group of members of the CRC

• One of the co-coordinators not from the notifying Party serves

as a chair, while another could be from the notifying Party and

acts as a drafter

• Task Group is established by the Secretariat in consultation

with the Bureau, but members are free to join any TG

• All members of the CRC are expected to participate in the

work of at least one Task Group

Operation of intersessional task groupsIntroduction

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What do TGs do?

• review notifications & supp. doc. for each chemical/SHPF:

Annex II criteria met?

• collect information in structured form for ease of reference

• prepare draft TG report

• finalise TG report the day before CRC (members + observers)

• coordinators: present summary of TG findings:

all Annex II criteria met or not; justification

• TG members expected to contribute to discussion at CRC

• [if relevant: prepare rationale during CRC

prepare draft DGD intersessionally]

Operation of intersessional task groupsIntroduction

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CRC 1 considered a number of operational procedures relevant

to its work:

- increase the efficiency of intersessional work

- setting of priorities and deadlines for information submission

COP 2 adopted a process for preparation of DGDs (flow chart)*:

intersessional task groups (TGs) are established

TGs undertake a preliminary review of the notifications and

supporting documentation for chemicals scheduled for the CRC

* UNEP/FAO/RC/COP.2/19, decision RC-2/2, see p. 4/5 in CRC handbook

Operation of intersessional task groupsBackground

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1. Notifications for chemicals are submitted to the secretariat.

The secretariat determine whether notifications include the

information required by Annex I.

If this is the case for at least 2 notifications from 2 PIC regions,

the chemical will be considered by the CRC.

2. For SHPF, a proposal from one Party is sufficient (information

requirements in Annex IV, part 1); additional information is

collected from Parties by the secretariat.

3. Prior to the CRC meeting, the secretariat forwards the

notifications / proposal & additional information to the TG to

carry out an initial review.

Operation of intersessional task groupsProcedure

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TG coordinators

are to prepare the first draft of the report of the preliminary review

of a chemical and take the lead in initiating and mediating

discussions among the Task Group members. The draft report is

circulated to all TG members prior to the CRC meeting for

comments.

All TG members

review the notifications, the supporting documentation and the draft

TG report.

Communciation among TG members during the intersessional

period is very important. It usually takes place by email, but

teleconferences are also an option.

Operation of intersessional task groupsIntersessional work

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• TG report should provide sufficient detail for the Committee to

understand the reasoning behind the conclusions of the Task Group

with respect to the individual requirements.

• In undertaking the preliminary review, the Task Group should

consider the policy guidance and working procedures developed to

guide the work of the CRC.

• TG coordinators should be prepared to lead the discussion on their

TG’s chemicals at the CRC meetings.

Operation of intersessional task groupsOperation of the task groups

8All CRC members should contribute actively to the CRC’s discussions!

Operation of intersessional task groupsIntersessional work - timelines

8 weeks prior to CRC

notifications and supporting documentation for all of the chemicals scheduled for review by the CRC are posted on the Rotterdam Convention website. TGs are created.

6-8 weeks prior toCRC

All TG members review the notification and supporting documentation. TG coordinatorsprepare the draft TG report

At least 5 weeks prior to CRC

TG circulate the draft TG report to all TG members.

At least 3 weeks prior to CRC

TG members send comments on the draftTG report to TG coordinators.

3 weeks prior to CRC TG finalises draft TG report and sends it tothe secretariat > PIC web site.

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Operation of intersessional task groupsIntersessional work – timelines (cont.)

The day prior toCRC

TGs meet face-to-face at the CRC venue and

finalise TG report; taking into account comments

from CRC members & observers.

The TG meeting is open to all CRC members and

observers.

at CRC meeting

•TG coordinators present the results of the review

and the TG report.

•All CRC members discuss the TG report and

decide on whether or not the chemical should be

proposed for inclusion in Annex III.

•The TG or drafting group prepares a rationale for

the chemical (reasoning for the CRC decision).

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Operation of intersessional task groupsIntersessional work – review of notifications

Step 1: Each TG member should systematically review and

organise the information available to the CRC for each chemical

according to Annex I and Annex II of the Convention.

Step 2: A detailed analysis of this information is prepared;

addressing in particular the criteria of Annex II. It should state

clearly whether or not the individual criteria are met.

Tools:

• Analysis table (an Excel template is provided by the Secretariat)

may be used as a tool to organize the information found in the

notifications and supporting documents.

• CRC guidance to intersessional TGs: template for the TG report11

Operation of intersessional task groupsAnalysis table (xls template)

• One page for each notifying country, automatic summary page

• Analysis table will NOT be annexed to the TG report, but may serve as a means for each Task Group member to become familiar with the information

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Operation of intersessional task groupsTG report

•The TG report includes a detailed analysis for each

notification. It explains why each criterion of

Annex II has or has not been met. This serves as a basis for

the CRC rationale setting out how the notifications and

supporting documentation meet the requirements of the

Convention.

•The TG co-ordinators present to the CRC the results of their

assessment of whether the individual notifications meet the

requirements of the Convention (summary of the results in a

presentation)

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Operation of intersessional task groupsReferences in TG report

The TG report should make cross-reference to the

notification and supporting documentation to indicate

where certain information can be found (reference to

document name, page(s), chapter(s), line(s), as appropriate).

This facilitates the preparation of the rationale at the CRC,

and the compilation of the DGD, if the chemical will be

proposed for inclusion in Annex I.

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Operation of intersessional task groupsReferences in TG report - example

iii) Final regulatory action was based on a risk evaluation involving prevailing conditions

within the Party taking the action

The final regulatory action to ban carbofuran was based on a risk evaluation. The risk

analysis considered the label directions of carbofuran products that were registered in

Canada at the time of the review.

Use of the pesticide carbofuran posed an unacceptable risk to workers conducting certain

mixing, loading, applying or post-application activities even when engineering

controls or personal protective equipment are used. Postapplication risks for workers

were of concern for certain scenarios; mitigation measures that would diminish the

risk were considered, however, the mitigation measures calculated to reduce post-

application risk may be agronomically unfeasible. (UNEP/FAO/RC/CRC/11/6

sections 2.4.2.1 and 2.4.2.2 of the Canadian notification,

UNEP/FAO/RC/CRC/11/INF/12 page 45). 15

Operation of intersessional task groupsTG guidance documents

www.pic.int

Chapter 1.7 „Guidance to intersessional TGs..“ 16

Operation of intersessional task groupsTemplate / example for TG report

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Operation of intersessional task groupsExamples of TG reports

www.pic.int > The Convention > Chemical Review Committee > Meetings > CRC 11 > Task Groups Reports

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Operation of intersessional task groupsPreparation of the rationale

If the CRC decides that at least one notification has met all criteria of Annex II, a rationale has to be prepared for the chemical.

Usually, a drafting group prepares a draft rationale which is then discussed by the full CRC.

All rationales will be annexed to the official CRC report.

The rationale contains, separately for each notifying country, a detailed reasoning on:

• the scope of the regulatory action

• why each of the criteria of Annex II have been met or not

and a summary paragraph on the final CRC conclusion.

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Operation of intersessional task groupsPreparation of the rationale

Basis for the rationale: TG report & CRC conclusions

The reasoning on whether or not the criteria of Annex II have

been met should be exhaustive.

Reference to the notification, the supporting documentation

and other documents available to the CRC (e.g. information

on trade) should be provided in the rationale whenever

appropriate, as in the TG report.

This greatly facilitates retracing CRC’s findings (notification

and supporting documentation) during the DGD preparation

and in subsequent meetings.

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Operation of intersessional task groupsReferences in rationales

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Operation of intersessional task groupsExamples of rationales

www.pic.int > The Convention > Chemical Review Committee > Reports and Decisions

Rationales are Annexes to the CRC decisions and may be found in the CRC meeting reports.

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Operation of intersessional task groupsLessons learned

Start early:

The schedule is tight!

If in doubt, please consult:

• Convention text

• CRC guidance documents

• TG coordinators

• Secretariat

Communicate and collaborate: Contributions from

all TG members are essential for the quality of the

documents and discussions at the CRC.23

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Thank you for your attention!