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Assistance Activities

In order to enhance the capacities of countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia and South-Eastern Europe in implementing the Convention, the Assistance Programme was developed and adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its third meeting in 2004.
According to the current workplan, the following Assistance activities are to be implemented during the biennium 2017–18:
a) Assistance Programme
  • Activities to support the implementation of the Strategic Approach through national and subregional expert and high-level meetings and support to the development of self-assessments and action plans (to be determined), but in cooperation with the Regional Environment Centre for Central and Eastern Europe
  • Project on strengthening implementation of and accession to the Convention in Central Asia, including national seminars in 2017-2018 (5 countries), assistance with drafting self-assessments and action plan and a subregional workshop in 2018, with finalization envisaged in 2019, Lead/supporting countries: Russian Federation.
  • UNECE pilot project to strengthen the safety of mining operation, in particular tailings management facilities (TMFs), in Kazakhstan and beyond in Central Asia with finalization envisaged in 2019. Lead/supporting countries: Switzerland.
  • Follow-up to the Danube Delta project to complete joint contingency plan and support the drafting of a protocol among the three concerned countries
  • Two advisory missions
  • Activities to build capacity for the implementation of amended annex I in countries of South-Eastern Europe through a subregional workshop on chemicals management and the identification and notification of hazardous activities, in cooperation with partners, including the ECE Transport Division as the custodian of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (Zagreb, February 2017), Supporting Organization: the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument of the European Union (TAIEX) and in cooperation with the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe
  • Activity to build capacity for the implementation of amended annex I in countries of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, through a subregional workshop on chemicals management and the identification and notification of hazardous activities, in cooperation with partners, including the ECE Transport Division as the custodian of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (Minsk, April-May 2017), Lead/supporting countries: Belarus, with financial support from Germany and Norway

b) Other assistance activities

c) Awareness-raising in and outreach to other regions
  • Promotion and raising awareness of the Convention including beyond the ECE region (production of information materials and establishment of a network of contacts), Supporting bodies/organizations: ECE and possibly other regional commissions and lead countries

d) ECE Industrial Accident Notification System
  • Consultation for Points of Contact to review the effectiveness of the ECE Industrial Accident Notification System and discuss preparedness and response for disaster risk reduction

A complete list of assistance activities during this and previous bienniums, including background information, is available through the page "Meetings and Events" when selecting "Industrial Accidents" as the area of activity and "Assistance Programme" as the type of meeting.