Conclusion of the main panel
Griffins focuses on the colonialism continuity that faces the Global South and especially Africa. The use, exposure and trade of chemicals in forms of pesticides and waste, are a new form of imperialism. Governments and Companies from the Global North export these things to the Global South and benefits of that. Waste is massively imported for a potential value. The big amount and also wrong dumping and use causes disposal of various hazardous chemicals. Even in waste trade but also the export of pesticides bring chemicals to the Global South, which are strongly restricted in the Global North. These double standards facing injustice. Although there are international regulation such as the Basel Convention to ban waste dumping, there is a big lack of enforcement and implementation, which continuous the injustice. To solve this and to avoid injustice a transparency and information are a key to access a clean and healthy environment, without chemicals disposal. An international framework must guarantee democratic participation on negotiation of communities and states to raise their concerns.
Rochelle addressed the exposure to Indigenous People and how they burden much more under the disposal of chemicals. Indigenous People are more based in the environment as the majority society. They mostly live by and with natural resources, in connection with mother earth and without exploitation of the nature. But this resources get more and more polluted. Sometimes intentional for example by the use of pesticides and sometimes as a side effect of production and consumption or even through on accident. So the living conditions of Indigenous People get polluted next to the direct pollutions of the people. Therefore result several health impacts especially impacts on sexul health and reproduction from which burden indigenous women even worse. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues calls for an international chemicals convention to address these issues. This Convention must be conform with the human rights standards including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
Piyush point out the special burden women suffer from chemicals exposure. Gender is a relevant factor for the quantity and quality of exposure to the exposure, because of two main facts. On the one hand biological differences between the sexes causes different health effects, especially the relative higher proportion of body fat in women causes a higher bioaccumulation. On the other hand there are social effects like gender roles. Occupational exposure varied with women and men, women in Global South are more impacted due to nature of job. And in general women doing the most work in the households, where they are also confronted with chemicals. And gender roles also subjected to use more cosmetics, which are also a source of exposure. To avoid these special and disproportional exposure there is a need for reducing by substitution and the use of clean alternatives. To make this happen information needs to be accessible for example via labeling. On an international level, we must ensure greater participation of women in the chemicals management. That could be reached by including women and chemicals as an Issue of Concern in a SAICM-Beyond-2020 or a special funding.
Discussion:
All panelists mention existing rules, conventions and regulations. The big problem is the lack of enforcement and the missing of binding elements. To solve this, all UN Conventions must be binding for all states to enforce the power of the conventions. And powerful states like the US should not be able to work against these conventions in the background. The current laws and conventions are designed for the industry more than for people. The whole production sphere is not touched, because of produced values, money and jobs. We can´t break this injustice while a powerful industry influencing states during negotiations. We all, the international civil society together with all affected groups must raise the pressure and the awareness. We need a higher participation and representation in the conventions and the negotiations. The presence of right holders, the improve of researches from the impacted peoples and the involvement of various perspectives guarantees an awareness of different exposures. For that lot more funding is needed, to guarantee access for all and to build the necessary capacities.