GP Urges Paraguay and All Latin American Countires to Support Wa

["greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

Greenpeace urges Paraguay and all Latin American countries to
support the ban on waste trade.
 
Asuncion, January 15th, 1998 - A Greenpeace delegation arrived
in Asuncion to clarify and explain the information it gathered
on waste exportations to Paraguay, research the cases recently
made public and urge the Paraguayan government to immediately
ratify the international decision that bans the shipments of
wastes to the developing world.

The presence of a different number of barrels apparently
containing toxic wastes was made public by the Paraguayan
government during the last weeks. These findings together with
the statements made by a former officer of the Paraguayan
Embassy in Germany, have pointed Germany as the origin of the
wastes. "After researching wastes exports to Latin America in
1991 we identified at least three projects to export toxic waste
from Germany to Paraguay"(1), said Andreas Bernstorff, Toxic
Trade Campaigner from Greenpeace Germany.  "However, we can't
prove that these or other schemes have finally succeeded. We
still hope that the report published by Greenpeace in 1991 had
helped to stop those shipments." 

Greenpeace has researched and stopped several toxic wastes
shipments from the industrialised countries to the developing
world. "Latin America has been one of the most frequent
destinations for the wastes produced in the industrialised
countries, so we don't rule out the possibility that the wastes
apparently found now in Paraguay have been imported from Europe;
however with the data we have to date, we can't prove it", said
Marcelo Furtado, Toxic Trade Team Leader for Greenpeace
International. 

In 1995, the Parties to the Basel Convention amended its text to
introduce a ban on the exports of wastes from OECD (2) countries
to non OECD. This Ban, known as the Basel Ban, needs to be
ratified by its members to come into force. "We hope that
Paraguay and other Latin American countries that are members of
the Basel Convention ratify the amendment", said Furtado. "This
way they will be helping to put an end to this trade and the
developing world will have the chance to stop being the waste
dumping ground for the industrialised nations.

Next February, Latin American countries that are members of the
Basel Convention will meet in Kuching, Malasia, with delegations
of over 100 countries to take the final decisions on the Basel
Ban implementation process. 

-- END --

Notes:

(1) The above mentioned projects to export waste from Germany
and the US to Paraguay between 1989-1991 have been documented by
Greenpeace and published in 1991 in a report by Greenpeace
Germany ("Einige Mullexportprojekte aus Europa und den USA nach
Lateinamerika 1988-1991", written by Ruben Nicotera and Andreas
Bernstorff ). 

(2) OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Greenpeace on the Internet at http://www.greenpeace.org