News

Trade unions to target Rotterdam Convention in rally against asbestos

GENEVA PROTEST

Where: Beginning at the Broken Chair, Place des Nations, Geneva and ending outside the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG), 17, rue de Varembé.

When: 08:00 to 08:30 Friday, 28 April 2017

Background

Trade unionists from around the world will be demonstrating against the asbestos trade on the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers on 28 April.

More than 100 trade unionists affiliated to global unions UNI, IndustriALL, and BWI, will march from the Place des Nations to the CICG, where parties to the Rotterdam, Stockholm and Basel Conventions are meeting from 24 April to 5 May.

Trade unions want deadly chrysotile asbestos listed on Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention, a United Nations treaty that requires dangerous substances on its list to be traded with prior consent and full knowledge of their hazards. 

However, chrysotile asbestos has been repeatedly blocked from the list by a handful of nations who profit from the asbestos trade, such as Russia and Kazakhstan. This is despite the fact chrysotile meets all the scientific criteria and has majority support for listing.

A proposal from a group of 12 African nations seeks to amend Article 22 of the Convention to remove the power of veto and enable the listing of a dangerous substance if it has majority support of 75 per cent of voting parties.

This change would bring the Convention in line with the decision-making process for the Stockholm and Basel Conventions.

Around two million tonnes of asbestos are still mined every year, with most exports going to the developing world. Listing of chrysotile asbestos on the Rotterdam Convention would be an important step towards the trade union goal of a global ban.