Environmental Conventions

Geneva hosts the secretariats of a number of multilateral environmental conventions whose activities are aimed at protecting the environment, conserving biodiversity, ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources, preventing environmental pollution, and promoting international environmental cooperation.

Most of these conventions operate under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and constitute important international legal mechanisms for cooperation among States in the field of environmental protection.

Environmental Conventions under UNEP

The secretariats of the following multilateral environmental conventions are located in Geneva:

· Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal;

· Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade;

· Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants;

· Minamata Convention on Mercury;

· Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Environmental Conventions under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

Within the framework of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the secretariats of five environmental conventions, as well as their related protocols, operate in Geneva:

· Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention) and the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment;

· Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) and the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers;

· Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and its protocols;

· Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and the Protocol on Water and Health;

· Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents.

UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy

The Committee on Environmental Policy (CEP) is the principal intergovernmental body of UNECE responsible for environmental policy issues. Its main areas of work include the implementation of the “Environment for Europe” process, the preparation of Environmental Performance Reviews, the development of environmental monitoring and assessment systems, and the exchange of experience and best practices among Member States.

Ukraine’s Participation

Ukraine is a Party to the multilateral environmental conventions whose secretariats are located in Geneva and actively participates in the work of their Conferences of the Parties, committees, working groups and other subsidiary bodies. Ukraine’s engagement is aimed at ensuring the implementation of its international environmental obligations, promoting international cooperation in the field of environmental protection, and contributing to the development of the international environmental agenda.

Since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, one of the priorities of the Permanent Mission has been to draw the attention of the international community to the environmental consequences of the Russian aggression and to make use of the mechanisms of multilateral environmental conventions to document and internationally assess those consequences.

The experience gained by Ukraine in documenting and assessing the environmental consequences of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine also contributes to the development of international approaches to environmental protection in situations of international armed conflict.

Ukraine’s Initiatives under the Ramsar Convention

An important area of Ukraine’s international environmental engagement is its work within the framework of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention).

During the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention (COP14), held in November 2022, the Resolution XIV.20 “The Ramsar Convention’s response to environmental emergency in Ukraine relating to the damage of its Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites) stemming from the Russian Federation’s aggression” was adopted. The Resolution became the first decision devoted to the consequences of an international armed

conflict for Wetlands of International Importance. It instructed the Convention Secretariat to carry out an international assessment of the damage inflicted on Ukraine’s Ramsar Sites, coordinate the relevant work with international organizations, and present the findings to the Contracting Parties.

Pursuant to the Resolution, the Convention Secretariat prepared a comprehensive assessment of the environmental damage caused to Ukraine’s Wetlands of International Importance as a result of the Russian aggression and developed recommendations for their restoration.

During the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP15), held in July 2025 in Victoria Falls, Republic of Zimbabwe, the Resolution XV.24 was adopted, extending the implementation of Resolution XIV.20 and launched the next phase of international efforts to assess and document the environmental consequences of the Russian aggression for Ukraine’s Ramsar Sites.

The adoption of these two consecutive resolutions secured the inclusion of the environmental consequences of the Russian aggression affecting Ukraine’s Ramsar Sites on the Convention’s agenda and established an international mechanism for the further assessment of the damage and the development of recommendations for the restoration of the affected Wetlands of International Importance, which play a vital role in conserving biodiversity, maintaining water regimes, and mitigating the impacts of climate change.