Syrian presentation For The Symposium on illegal international traffic in hazardous chemical Czech Republic , 6-8 Nove

1. Syrian presentationFor The Symposium on illegal international traffic in hazardous chemical Czech Republic , 6-8 November 2006 Prepared by Fouad ELOK Director , chemical safety directorate Ministry of local administration and environment

2. Participation in the initiatives on the international level on illegal international traffic in hazardous chemicals • Syria has participated in the frame work of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements on Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. • Syria did not receive any financial support from international funds for projects focused on illegal trade and helped the outcomes of the projects to solve the problem in long-term. On the other hand, there was a training for the customs work team in the frame work of multilateral fund of Ozone Protection Convention and Montreal Protocol in order for raising its capabilities to carry out the needed supervision for that and to prevent the illegal trade of the restricted or banned substances in accordance to Montreal Protocol.

3. In the frame work of Stockholm Convention, we have not finished yet from preparing POPs/NIP; and promoting of supervision on the POPs substances might be one of the projects which would be emerged out of POPs/NIP and prevent the illegal trade by it or by its wastes. • Enforcement of Montreal Protocol has been succeeded in cooperation with the customs.

4. The Legislative Aspect • Environment Protection Law N.(50) for the year 2002 : which include : • Preventing of the illegal trade by chemicals in accordance with the article N. ( ). • Preventing of the illegal trade by hazardous wastes, which their punishment, whether they have been entered or buried in Syria, might be execution. • Smuggling Confrontation Law. • Agricultural Pesticides Registration Law.

5. Cleanness Law for the year 2004: it has included in its third chapter provisions about hazardous wastes and banning of transport it to Syria, and it considers that the illegal trade by it is a criminal work which is punished by law. • Ratifying on the Basel, Stockholm, Rotterdam and Vienna Conventions. So, they have become as laws, which request commitments under them

6. Enforcement Procedures of National Legislations • There is a supervision on the chemical substances which enter our country by Ministries, concerned bodies and Customs each of their specialty (General Commission for Environmental Affairs, Health, Agriculture, Oil). • Hazardous wastes have been banned to enter into Syria, and they are considered as a criminal work which is punished by law. • A decision on the national level has been issued on banning of the unmatched substances with the requested standards from entering our country, and binding the importer to back them to their source under the responsibility of punishment and pursuit.

7. Some substances might been entered in other names and that is because of sometimes there are not the suitable equipment and experiences to analyze samples of the entered substances and match them with the requested standards of substances before releasing them by the customs directorates and border passages. • In order for promoting the control on illegal trade, so that requests the following: • Raising of national capabilities (training of the work team of customs, analyzing laboratories) • Exchange-information network on the regional and sub-regional levels and expansion of prior informed consent and the notifications such those which emerge out of the EU or the American Environment Agency.

8. Other non-legislation Procedures concerning of reducing of illegal transport of chemicals and its wastes in Syria • Awareness raising: • In relation to the pesticides, there are agricultural guide units, farmers schools and training courses and educated programs in media. • In relation to the other chemicals, there is a training for workers and other workers who deal with chemicals through awareness and training programs, which are launched by Ministries of Health, Environment, non-governmental organizations and media.

9. Some of the used methods which assist to control on the illegal trade are the following: • Restricted and banned chemicals lists have been issued in addition to national lists on banned hazardous wastes. • Supervision on import by the competent bodies in addition to the Customs. • Any imported substance does not be released unless taking samples out of it and analyzing them and comparing them with the requested standards of substances. • Obligating of the unmatched substances importers to back them to their sources. • Enforcement of the prior informed consent of the Rotterdam Convention and with the EU.

10. The National Requested Needs to control the Illegal Transport of Chemicals and Wastes • Training of Customs’ workers on: • The restricted and banned substances lists. • The adopted standards. • Taking samples, quality analyses, assessment of quality analyses of substances and global classification systems. • Raising of the analysis ability in the adopted laboratories by the Customs. • Raising of the capabilities of other bodies (Health, Environment, Agriculture). • Establishing of data bases on chemicals and exchange-information network. • Adopting special profiles which determine the way and the technique of acquaintance and control this illegal trade.

11. Needs on the International Level • Expansion of the prior informed consent in accordance to the Rotterdam Convention. • Executing of banning export of hazardous wastes from the industrial countries to the developing countries in accordance to Basel Convention and exchanging of information among countries about that. • Exchanging of information among countries and the relevant international organizations. • The prior informing from the industrial countries to the developing countries might assist when exporting through the prior notification, like what happens indeed in the EU.

12. THANK YOU