15th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention (OEWG-15)

About Basel Convention OEWG-15

The fifteenth meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal – one of the subsidiary bodies of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention –  is convening from Tuesday, 23 June to Friday, 26 June 2026, at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG), with pre-meetings, including Bureau and regional meetings, taking place on Monday, 22 June.

The OEWG is expected to advance key items within its work programme, focusing on a range of priority areas. These include efforts to improve the functioning of the prior informed consent procedure, as well as the development of technical guidelines addressing Persistent Organic Pollutants, e-waste, waste lead-acid batteries, used and waste pneumatic tyres, and mercury. Additional topics of focus include plastic waste, used textiles and textile waste, and the provision of greater legal clarity. Furthermore, the OEWG will support activities under the Basel Convention Partnership Programme and strengthen cooperation with the World Customs Organization and the International Maritime Organization.

Outcomes

The 15th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention (OEWG-15) concluded on Friday, 26 June 2026, at the International Conference Center Geneva. Throughout the week, delegates advanced significant work ahead of the 2027 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions with a spirit of collaboration and compromise, showing that the Basel Convention is alive and relevant, as underscored by Chair Nneka Nicholas of Antigua and Barbuda.

The Working Group adopted 19 decisions covering a broad range of strategic, technical and legal matters under the Convention, including:

Tentative Schedule

Highlights

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1

GEN @ Basel OEWG-15

The Geneva Environment Network will support various side events during OEWG-15. Find the full list of side events here.

Other side events

Other Side Events for which online participation is possible include:

• Strengthening the Science-Policy Interface on Waste through International Collaboration | Organized by ISP-CWP interim secretariat with UNEP, BRS Secretariat, Minamata Secretariat | 23 June 2026, 13:30 – 14:30 CEST
• Used Textiles in Practice: Trade, Impacts and Development Pathways | Organized by UNCTAD and Bureau of International Recycling | 23 June 2026, 18:30 – 19:30 CEST | Zoom (Passcode 436795)
• Understanding E-waste Challenges to Enable Environmentally Sound Management | Organized by Partnership for Action on Challenges relating to E-waste (PACE II), ITI | 24 June 2026, 13:30 – 14:30 CEST | Zoom
• Advancing and Scaling -up Solutions to Reduce Pollution and Exposure from Used Lead-Acid Batteries | Organized by Global Alliance on Health and Pollution | 24 June 2026, 18:30-19:30 CEST | Zoom
• Advancing Zero Waste approaches: Policy, enabling factors and good practices for waste prevention and circularity | Organized by IETC | 13:30 – 14:30 CEST | Teams
• ESM of plastic waste under the Basel Convention through technical assistance and regional solution | Organized by BCRC Senegal, BCRC South Africa | 26 June 2026, 13:30 – 14:30 CEST |  Teams
• SIDS-led E-waste Solutions under the ISLANDS Programme: Addressing Structural Barriers | Organized by Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (UNEP) | 26 June 2026,13:30 – 14:30 CEST |  Zoom

Tribute to Ms. Tessa Goverse

By losing Tessa, our community has lost not only a highly respected expert but also a friend whose humanity and calm, thoughtful presence enriched our negotiations and our work together.

Before Tuesday morning’s plenary at Basel Convention OEWG-15, delegates and observers pay tribute to the memory of Tessa Goverse of UN Environment Programme, who recently passed away.

Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, commemorates her as someone « who brought people together » and has « dedicated more than two decades to advance environmental action and the establishment of the ISP-CWP. » Her legacy will continue to guide and inspire us.

ISP-CWP Chair Osvaldo Alvarez pays tribute to her memory as a « warm, generous person, deeply committed to multilateralism, and to advancing our collective work on chemicals, waste & pollution. »

The Geneva Environment Network extends its most sincere condolences to her family, friends, loved ones, and the environmental community in this most difficult time.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen also shared a message paying tribute, highlighting that most of the past decade, Tessa’s focus turned to chemicals, waste and pollution where she worked as Chief for the Source to Sea Pollution Unit in Ecosystems Division, and finally as Head of the Interim Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISP-CWP).

Links

• Basel Convention OEWG-15
• IPEN | Quick Views | More resources
• BIR Comments on the Regulation of Used Textiles under the Basel Convention | Bureau of International Recycling | June 2026
• Basel Action Network |  Delegate Alert #1 | Delegate Alert #2 | Delegate Alert #3 | Delegate Alert #4 | Basel Action Network Comments eWaste Amendment Guidelines (February 2026)
• EIA | EIA Submission to Basel Convention Secretariat – Plastic Waste | 28 February 2026