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1.Takes note of the report on the emergency mechanism established in accordance with decision V/32;1
2.Decides to amendthesection entitled “Procedure” of chapter IV of part 1 of the Interim Guidelines for the Implementation of Decision V/32 on Enlargement of the Scope of the Technical Cooperation Trust Fund2 to read as follows:Procedure:
(i)Requests submitted to the Secretariat are dealt with promptly. On the basis of the present Interim Guidelines, the Executive Secretary, in consultation with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties, using a quick procedure, may provide assistance to a Party to the Convention from the Technical Cooperation Trust Fund.
(ii)The Executive Secretary will also consult with contributors, especially in cases where contributions to the Trust Fund are earmarked with conditions.
(iii)Upon receiving a request for emergency assistance, the Secretariat shall consult with experts, through the national focal point, in order to clarify the urgency, the imminence of the threat or the type of measures necessary to be taken for that specific incident.
(iv)All decisions taken should be reported to the Bureau, Working Groups and to the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
3.Requests the Secretariat to reflect the amendment adopted in the preceding paragraph in the text of the Interim Guidelines and to make the amended version of the guidelines publicly available;
4.Considers nevertheless that further changes will be required to provide developing countries with effective rapid access to expertise following emergencies and, to that end, requests the Secretariat to make proposals to the Conference of the Parties at its twelfth meeting on strengthening cooperation with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Environment Programme and other relevant organizations mentioned in the report and, if necessary, redefining the division of labour with them;
5.Requests the Secretariat to reconsider, in accordance with the report, its role in capacity-building activities relevant to the prevention of incidents and enhancing the preparedness of countries to deal with emergencies caused by transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and other wastes and their disposal, and if necessary make proposals to the Conference of the Parties at its twelfth meeting for amendments to part 3 of the Interim Guidelines;
6.Also requests the Secretariat to continue its cooperation and collaboration with the Joint United Nations Environment Programme/Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Environment Unit and to consider whether any changes in the letter of agreement between the Secretariat and the Joint Environment Unit are needed as a result of the report;
7.Invites the Basel Convention regional centres to carry out prevention and preparedness capacity-building activities with relevant partners, such as the Joint United Nations Environment Programme/Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Environment Unit;