IPEN nominated for the IFCS Award of Merit:


USA | Feb 28, 2003



The IFCS (Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety) Award is given in recognition of an individual or organization who has made an outstanding contribution toward achieving the goal of global chemical safety.

Nomination letter that recognize IPEN's work.

The IFCS Merit Award is given in recognition of an individual or organization who has made an outstanding contribution toward achieving the goal of global chemical safety. IFCS Awards of Merit are presented at sessions of the Forum. The fourth session (Bangkok, 1-7 November 2003) will be hosted by the Royal Thai Government.

IPEN's Special Achievements noted in the nomination letter to the IFCS :-


The International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) is a global network of public interest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in support of a common POPs elimination goal. The mission of IPEN, achieved through its participating organizations, is to work for the global elimination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

Founded in early 1998 by a small number of NGOs, IPEN was formally launched with a public forum in June 1998 at the first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC 1) for an international legally binding instrument on POPs. Throughout the course of the negotiating sessions, the network grew to include more than 350 public health, environmental, consumer, and other non-governmental organizations in 65 countries. IPEN, through its effective mobilizing and coordinating work, contributed much to the success of the POPs negotiations. The organizational structure of IPEN consists of a Steering Committee, Secretariat, two Co-Chairs, and Working Groups. In the moment, there are three Working Groups of IPEN focusing on Dioxin, PCB and Waste, on Pesticides, and on Community Monitoring.

Since its inception early 1998, IPEN has developed a POPs Elimination Platform, which summarizes some of the key findings about POPs' effects on the environment and human Health and outlines the core principles that should be embodied in a global POPs agreement. At the conclusion of the Convention negotiations the IPEN participating organizations reaffirmed their joint commitment to continue to work collectively to implement the POPs Convention by signing the IPEN Stockholm Declaration in May 2001. To accomplish the shared vision, IPEN participating organizations work together to secure opportunities for meaningful participation by public interest NGOs and other civil society organizations in programmes at the local, country, regional and global level associated with the implementation of the Stockholm Convention.

Since formal negotiations of the POPs Convention text were completed in 2001, IPEN participating organizations and IPEN Working Groups continue to participate in the ongoing international discussion related to this Convention and have come up with strategies to encourage ratification and implementation of the Stockholm Convention on POPs in countries around the world. Several IPEN participating organizations at the national level have engaged in educational activities on POPs, participated in various international and regional workshops related to POPs and chemical safety, and have lobbied governments into ratifying to Stockholm Convention. IPEN has established a website (www.ipen.org) and has produced information packages on POPs, including a POPs manual for easy reading.

The network worked extremely fast and efficient to mobilize grassroots support for the global treaty to eliminate POPs. It also leveraged the resources and created a forum for NGOs and activists from around the world to participate in the POPs negotiations. IPEN coordinate a huge and heterogeneous stakeholder group in a participatory and target oriented approach. Awareness raising in the general public and involvement of public-interest NGOs was a crucial element for the acceptance and successful completion of the negotiations on the POPs Convention. IPEN was the driving force to fulfill this task.

Acknowledging the outstanding achievements in the course of promoting international action on POPs, IPEN is nominated for the IFCS Special Recognition Award.



Attachment:
IPEN Declaration for a Toxic Free Future - ENGLISH   DOWNLOAD







Version: DRAFT 2.0 (June 1, 2006)