[WSIS CS-Plenary] E-Waste 'officially' becomes HR Issue

[Sasha Costanza-Chock]

This is encouraging development, and hopefully will give those working on
e-waste within WSIS more leverage to improve the language on e-waste in the
documents.

sc


Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 13:15:43 +0200 
From: "Soenke Zehle" <soenke.zehle at web.de> 
Subject: <nettime> E-Waste 'officially' becomes HR Issue 

The UN Special Rapporteur on Adverse Effects of the Illicit Movement and 
Dumping of Toxic and Dangerous Products and Wastes on the Enjoyment of Human

Rights has recently turned to e-waste issues. The EDC review [1] includes 
Basel Action Network [2] and EarthJustice [3] materials submitted to the UN 
Commission on Human Rights. Good news, likely to intensify the convergence 
of environmental and human rights activism in general [4]. 

Earth Justice started as the legal defense fund of the much-maligned US 
Sierra Club, and many dematerialization-through-technology cyberlibertarians

are also, and not necessarily paradoxically, wilderness advocates (for 
'bionomics' promoters like Rothstein or Kelly, 'nature' represents the 
ultimate information economy). So maybe, their philanthropic support is 
coming full circle when they are finally paying for campaigns that address 
the hr-implications of e-waste.  sz 

[1] <http://www.padrigu.gu.se/EDCNews/Reviews/HumanRights-Env.html> 
[2] <http://www.ban.org/> 
[3] <http://www.earthjustice.org/> 
[4] <http://www.amnestyusa.org/justearth/> 

Environment and Human Rights Linked Before UN Commission 

The case for linking human rights and environmental protection is receiving 
increased recognition as a prevailing legal norm, says an nonprofit 
environmental law organization based in the United States. The International

Program of Earthjustice submitted its annual issue paper, "Human Rights and 
the Environment" at the 59th Session of the United Nations Commission on 
Human Rights in Geneva. [April 2003] 

Trends and themes in the field of human rights that are pressing enough to 
warrant the appointment of special rapporteurs include a Special Rapporteur 
on Adverse Effects of the Illicit Movement and Dumping of Toxic and 
Dangerous Products and Wastes on the Enjoyment of Human Rights. This special

rapporteur, Fatma Zohra Ouhachi Vesely of Tunisia, highlighted a new trend 
in the area within her mandate - the export of hazardous electronic waste 
from developed countries for recycling in developing countries in Asia. 

As documented by many reports received from different sources, she wrote, 
these wastes are processed in operations that are "extremely harmful to 
human health and the environment, with severe implications for human 
rights." Improper disposal of electronic waste that contains heavy metals 
and pollutants poses a threat to human health. 

US exports to China, India, and Pakistan 

She cited a comprehensive report from the Basel Action Network, a Seattle 
based global network of toxics and development activist organizations, 
alleging that substantial amounts of hazardous electronic wastes are 
exported from the United States to Asian countries such as China, India and 
Pakistan for recycling. The report alleges that improper disposal of 
electronic waste that contains heavy metals and pollutants poses a 
significant threat to human health, leading to respiratory illness, skin 
infections, stomach diseases and other conditions. 

Computer or television monitors contain cathode ray tubes, which typically 
contain enough lead to be classified as hazardous waste when being recycled 
or disposed of. A typical computer monitor may contain up to eight pounds of

lead. The report submits that such exports of electronic waste are contrary 
to the Basel Convention, to which the United States is not a party. 

Representing the United States, Malik Hasan, a neurologist and former owner 
of HMOs, said that his country remains "concerned that in a number of 
instances, unverified allegations were reported and often treated as fact" 
in the Special Rapporteur's report. 

Hasan told the delegates that the United States is currently making efforts 
to seek ratification of the Basel Convention. He acknowledged that 
nongovernmental organizations consider that this would do more to legitimize

international waste dumping than it would do to prevent it. The United 
States "disagreed strongly with this characterization," and noted that by 
ratifying the treaty, the U.S. would gain in "the ability and responsibility

to better regulate exports of hazardous waste." It would not legitimize 
international waste dumping, he said. 

Canadian exports to China 

The Basel Action Network report also alleges that hazardous electronic waste

originating from Canada is being exported to Asia for recycling. One of the 
receiving countries, China, has banned the import of electronic waste, and 
the report alleges that Canada's refusal to honor that ban by furthering 
exports of electronic waste to China is in contravention of the Basel 
Convention. 

During a visit to Canada in October 2002, Vesely said she had an opportunity

to raise the issue of the Basel Action Network report directly with the 
government. The government spokesman informed the Special Rapporteur that 
Canada is meeting its international obligations in the field of hazardous 
wastes and that Environment Canada is reviewing its definition of hazardous 
waste, including electronic scrap, as part of ongoing amendments to the 
Export and Import of Hazardous Wastes Regulations. 

Environment Canada has not issued any permit for the export of hazardous 
electronic scrap to any developing country, the spokesman said. Canada also 
prohibits the export of hazardous wastes to countries that have notified 
Environment Canada that they themselves prohibit imports of such waste. As 
of November 2002, China had not notified Environment Canada of any ban on 
the import of electronic waste. In view of the allegations of electronic 
waste export to China, Environment Canada has requested information from the

Chinese authorities as to whether China has a prohibition on the import of 
electronic scrap. 

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