Protection against products harmful to health and the environment : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

  • Author: UN General Assembly (39th sess. : 1984-1985)
  • Document source:
  • Date:
    18 December 1984
 

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Protection against products harmful to health and the environment

  The General Assembly, Reaffirming its resolutions 37/137 of 17 December 1982 and 38/149 of 19 December 1983, Taking note with satisfaction of the report of the Secretary-General on products harmful to health and the environment, Bearing in mind the report of the Secretary-General on the exchange of information on banned hazardous chemicals and unsafe pharmaceutical products, and welcoming the effort being made in various international forums with regard to the exchange of information on such products,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General and commends him for the distribution of the first issue of the consolidated list of products whose consumption and/or sale have been banned, withdrawn, severely restricted or, in the case of pharmaceuticals, not approved by Governments;

2. Reiterates its appreciation for the co-operation extended by Governments in the preparation of the consolidated list, and urges all Governments that have not yet done so to provide the necessary information for inclusion in the updated versions of the list;

3. Notes with satisfaction the co-operation provided by the appropriate organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations in the issuance of the list and urges them, particularly the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Environment Programme, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations, to continue to co-operate fully in the preparation of the updated versions of the list;

4. Expresses its appreciation for the co-operation provided by non- governmental organizations in this regard, and urges them to continue to extend co-operation to the Secretary-General in the preparation of the consolidated list, particularly in the identification of potential sources of information among national Governments and in obtaining governmental information on relevant regulatory actions;

5. Decides that:

(a) An updated consolidated list should be issued annually and that the data should be made available to Governments and other users in such a form as to permit direct computer access to it;

(b) In order to keep costs to a minimum, the consolidated list should be published and made available in all the official languages of the United Nations in sets of alternating languages each year, with no more than three languages per year and with the same frequency for each language;

(c) The format of the consolidated list should be kept under continuing review with a view to its improvement, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 37/137, in co-operation with the relevant organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, taking into account the complementary nature of the list, the experiences obtained and the views expressed by Governments on this matter, and that the next review should be submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly at its forty-first session;

(d) The review of the consolidated list should cover particularly the advantages and disadvantages of introducing to the list such information as the legal, public health and commercial context of the regulatory actions, as well as complementary information on safe uses of the products;

6. Urges importing countries, bearing in mind the extensive legal, public health and safety information already provided to the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations, the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, to avail themselves of the information provision facilities of those organizations, which include, in some cases, direct computer access;

7. Requests the Secretary-General, with the assistance of the appropriate specialized agencies, to submit to the General Assembly at its forty-first session a report on a review of the various information exchange schemes now in operation within the United Nations system;

8. Requests the Secretary-General and the competent organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to continue to provide the necessary technical assistance to the developing countries, at their request, for the establishment or strengthening of national systems for managing hazardous chemicals and pharmaceutical products, as well as for an adequate monitoring of the importation, manufacture and use of those products;

9. Also requests the Secretary-General, through the Economic and Social Council, to inform the General Assembly at its forty-first session and every three years thereafter about the implementation of resolutions

37/137 and 38/149 and of the present resolution;

10. Further requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures for the implementation of the present resolution.

Disclaimer:

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.