What is Illegal Traffic?
Article 9 of the Basel Convention provides that any transboundary movement of hazardous or other wastes shall be deemed illegal when it is:
- Without notification pursuant to the provisions of this Convention to all States concerned, or
- Without consent pursuant to the provisions of this Convention of a State concerned, or
- Without consent obtained from States concerned through falsification, misrepresentation or,
- That does not conform in any material way with the documents, or
- That results in a deliberate disposal of hazardous wastes or other wastes in contravention of this Convention, and of general principles of international law.
Common methods of illegal traffic include making false declarations, the concealment, mixture or double layering of the materials in a shipment, and the mislabeling of individual containers. Such methods seek to misrepresent the actual contents of a shipment, and because of this, the meticulous and thorough scrutiny of national enforcement officers is required to detect cases of illegal traffic.
Prevention and Management of Illegal Traffic
Prevention of Illegal Traffic involves awareness of stakeholders concerned and development of legislation to implement and enforce provisions of the Convention.
Management of Illegal Traffic involves identification of States and stakeholders involved, meeting with stakeholders concerned in the States involves, reporting to the Secretariat, ensuring that the waste is re-imported by the exporter or that an alternative solution is agreed upon for environmentally sound management and support from the Basel Convention Regional Centre.
Identifying Cases of Illegal Traffic
Cases of Illegal Traffic may be flagged to the Competent Authority and/or Focal Point or the State involved, or to the Secretariat.
Addressing a case involving the illegal transboundary movement of hazardous wastes may involve:
- Competent Authorities of the countries of export and import
- Customs agencies in both jurisdictions
- National and international police organizations
- Countries that may have been used for transit.
Matters to be addressed in domestic legislation may include the definition of the offense, the burden of proof and the establishment of penalties.