The head of the Delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) delivered a statement at the video Meeting of the Parties to the BRS (Basel, Rotterdam & Stockholm) Conventions held in Geneva, Swiss from 26 to 30 July, 2021.

He said in his statement that environment pollution caused by chemicals, together with climate change and biodiversity loss, constitute the triple planetary crises faced by humankind, and stressed the following points for the successful implementation of the Conventions:

First, all parties should accept the implementation of the conventions as a moral duty for the sake of not only ourselves but also for the future generations and discharge their full responsibility and role to this end.

Protecting the ecosystem and restoring the nature is an undertaking to be carried out by all humanity for saving the earth, our precious home. All parties should no longer make empty talks but take practical actions if due success is to be achieved in this regard.

There should be no further tolerance of natural environment destruction and mass exports of all kinds of wastes to other countries in pursuit of immediate gains, and all parties should fulfil their duties and obligations under the conventions.

Second, scientific and technological assistance for implementing the conventions should be reinforced and double standards brought to an end in delivering assistance to the developing countries.

In the fifth meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme, held online this February, all member states agreed that international and regional assistance through the solutions based on science and technology plays an importance role in managing the global environment crisis.

Unless the scientific and technological assistance such as technology transfer to the developing countries and their capacity building are reinforced, we will not be able to guarantee successful implementation of the conventions and the implementation of the conventions will remain merely a blank plan.

The UNEP and the Secretariat of the Conventions should actively promote technology transfer and prioritize capacity building in the developing countries with a strategic viewpoint, and utterly reject double standards and politicization in international assistance for environmental protection.

He went on to mention that the government of the DPRK has specified the protection of the natural environment and ecosystem as a paramount task directly linked with the people’s living and pays deep attention to it.

He added that on adopting the 2030 National Environment Protection Strategy, the government of the DPRK enacted the National Recycle Law in 2020 and amended the National Environment Protection Law in 2021; as a result, the effective use of natural resources, reduction of waste materials and safe management of harmful wastes have turned into a nationwide undertaking in which all the people are obliged to take part.

He highlighted the agricultural sector raising a hot wind of scientific agriculture such as conservation farming and organic farming while taking practical measures to reduce the dependence on chemical fertilizers and agrochemicals.

He concluded by reaffirming the DPRK’s readiness to continue sincere implementation of its commitments made as a party to the Basel, Rotterdam & Stockholm Conventions.