The CP/RAC in the Stockholm Agreement

Article 12 of the Stockholm Convention recognizes rendering of timely and appropriate technical assistance in response to requests from developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition is essential to the successful implementation of the Convention.

In line of that, paragraph 4 of the above mentioned article, provisioned to establishing appropiate arrangements such as regional centres for providing technical assistance and transfer of technology.

The Conference of the Parties at its second  meeting adopted terms of reference for regional and subregional centres for capacity-building and transfer of technology under the Stockholm Convention as well as criteria for evaluating their performance. At its third meeting the Conference of the Parties in its decision SC-3/12 adopted terms of reference for the process of selecting regional and subregional centres for capacity-building and transfer of technology:

Following this process, the Government of Spain presented the candidature of CP/RAC for Regional Centre for Stockholm Convention during the third Conference of the Parties held in Dakar in 2007. Following this presentation, the CP/RAC was given the status of Nominated Centre for the Stockholm Convention in February 2008. The Centre was evaluated by the COP during its fourth meeting, held in May 2009. By the decision SC-4/23, the CPRAC was finally endorsed as Regional or Subregional centre for capacity building and transfer of technology for a period of four years.

Regional centres are willing to assist developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition to fulfil their obligations under the Convention by giving capacity building and transfer of technology.

Even though the CPRAC has been working on this task since the last years, this new role brings to the Centre a major responsibility and involvement in the Mediterranean with the final purpose of protecting human health and the environment from POPs.

As part of the new mandate of the centre, CPRAC is establishing a network of partners, as other Regional Centres for the Stockholm Convention, Cleaner Production Centres and Basel Convention Regional Centres to seek for collaboration thus avoiding duplication of efforts and promoting synergies with Rotterdam and Basel Conventions following the decisions taken by the COP of the three Conventions.