By Centre for Environment Justice and Development
Centre for Environment Justice and Development, in collaboration with the Centre for International Environmental Law, organized an Africa Civil Society Workshop on the Global Plastics Treaty held on the 13th and 14th of April with an aim to identify key priority issues for the Africa Region for the treaty, build the capacity of participating organizations to engage with their respective delegates and share knowledge to ensure that delegates are negotiating based on scientific evidence. The meeting brought together over 20 participants from 13 African countries.
The meeting participants identified the following as priorities for the African region to champion in the treaty; Establishment of control measures on the production, use and trade of plastics; ban and phase out the presence of toxic chemicals in plastics; ensure the protection of human rights including a just transition for informal and frontline workers and; end waste dumping in Africa and further release of microplastics and nanoplastics into all ecosystems. The need for the establishment of a new financial mechanism that will be robust and sustainable, ensuring that all the objectives and priorities set by the treaty can be implemented, was also identified by the CSOs as a priority for Africa.