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Inter-agency coordination

Strategic partnerships and inter-agency coordination are necessary to improve effectiveness and efficiency as well as to avoid the duplication of work in maintaining and enhancing industrial safety. One way of enhancing coordination is to establish regular meetings between partner organizations. To this end, UNECE initiated, in close cooperation with OECD, the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Chemical and Industrial Accidents (IACG). The rationale behind the IACG is to hold regular meetings between organizations and specialized agencies working on chemical and industrial accidents in order to coordinate activities amongst various actors. The IACG also aims to strengthen the ties between organizations as a means to facilitate inter-agency cooperation. Its terms of reference are available here

UNECE organized the inaugural IACG meeting in 2013. Partner organizations valued the initiative very much and decided to hold regular meetings moving forward: 

At the sixth meeting, the partner organizations asked UNECE to keep an updated list of the IACG’s members and their key resources concerning industrial safety. The below table includes information on the partner organizations’ relevant bodies, organs or processes; links to their key resources, guidance documents and processes on industrial safety; and their general website. 

Organization 

Bodies/organs/processes 

Key instruments/guidance /resources 

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) 

- Industrial Accidents Convention: Conference of the PartiesBureauWorking Group on Implementation; and Secretariat 

Joint Expert Group on Water and Industrial Accidents 

- Issue-Based Coalition on Climate Change and the Environment for Europe and Central Asia (co-lead with UNEP and UNESCO) 

Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents 

Decisions adopted at meetings of the Conference of the Parties 

Guidelines & good industry practices, including on safety for oil terminalspipelinestailings management facilities and firefighting water management and retention 

Information Repository of Good Practices and Lessons Learned in Land-Use Planning and Industrial Safety 

Online Toolkit and Training for Strengthening Mine Tailings Safety 

Introduction to Industrial Accidents (online training course), prepared with UNEP/OCHA JEU and UNEP 

(UNECE cont.) 

 

- Other publications, including:  

Guidance on land-use planning, the siting of hazardous activities and related safety aspects 

Implementation Guide for Central Asia on the Industrial Accidents Convention 

Brochure on the Joint Expert Group on Water and Industrial Accidents 

Cross-border concerns, shared strategies 

Checklist for contingency planning for accidents affecting transboundary waters 

User-friendly version of the Benchmarks for the implementation of the Industrial Accidents Convention 

European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment (EC DG ENV) 

Seveso Expert Group 

Seveso – III Directive 

- Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Documents (BREFs), such as the Best Available Techniques Reference Document for the Management of Waste from Extractive Industries 

European Commission Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) 

Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network 

- The EU Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) and its rescEU component on prevention and preparedness.  

- European Commission Action Plan on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 - 2030 

European Commission Joint Research Centre (EC JRC) 

Major Accidents and Hazards Bureau  

Technical Working Group on Seveso Inspections 

eMARS Major Accidents Database 

Lessons-learned bulletins 

Inspector resources - Good Practice Reports and Common Inspection Criteria 

Guidance on EU Seveso Directive implementation 

Accident analysis resources 

ADAM Consequence Analysis software 

Research on chemical accident risk topics 

- GMI-CHEM – Database of chemical accidents in the global media (not yet online) 

International Labour Organization (ILO) 

- Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR

- Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS

ILO Chemicals Convention No. 170  and its accompanying Recommendation No. 177  

ILO Code of Practice on Safety in the Use of Chemicals at Work 

ILO Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention No. 174 and its accompanying Recommendation No. 181 

Code of Practice on the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents  

International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs) database 

Major Hazard Control: A Practical Manual 

ILO Legal Review of Chemical Instruments 

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 

OECD Working Party on Chemical Accidents (WPCA

Guiding Principles for Chemical Accident Prevention, Preparedness and Response 

Guidance on Corporate Governance for Process Safety 

Guidance on Change of Ownership in Hazardous Facilities 

Guidance documents on Natech Risk Management 

- Recommendation concerning Chemical Accident Prevention, Preparedness and Response (2003) OECD/LEGAL/0319 

- Recommendation concerning the Application of the Polluter-Pays Principle to Accidental Pollution (1989) OECD/LEGAL/0251 

(OECD cont.) 

 

- Decision-Recommendation concerning Provision of Information to the Public and Public Participation in Decision-making Processes related to the Prevention of, and Response to, Accidents Involving Hazardous Substances (1988) OECD/LEGAL/0239 

- Decision on the Exchange of Information concerning Accidents Capable of Causing Transfrontier Damage (1988) OECD/LEGAL/0240 

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) 

Process to develop tools for Chemical Safety and Security Management 

Indicative Guidelines for Chemical Safety and Security in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to Foster the Peaceful Uses of Chemistry 

https://www.opcw.org/media-centre/news/2019/12/managing-chemical-safety-and-security-opcw-develop-guidelines-chemical  

United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) 

- Global and Regional Platforms for DRR 

- Global Risk Assessment Framework (GRAF) 

- Co-lead (together with UNFCCC) on task team climate change and the environment for Europe and Central Asia under the Issue-Based Coalition on Climate and the Environment 

Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 

- Sendai Framework Monitoring System (also for disaster-related targets of SDGs 1, 11 and 13) 

DRR terminology 

Hazard definition and classification review 

Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR) 

UNDRR Words into Action guidelines - Implementation Guide on man-made and technological hazards 

United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) 

Chemicals and Waste Management Programme 

Chemicals and Waste platform 

Guidelines for National Waste Management Strategies, developed by UNEP and UNITAR 

- Trainings, among others, on: 

      - Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, for which UNECE provides the secretariat 

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

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 

United Nations Environment Assembly  

Flexible framework for Industrial Accidents Prevention, Preparedness and Response 

APELL Multi-Hazard Training Kit for Local Authorities 

- UNEA Resolutions 4/5 on Sustainable infrastructure and 4/19 on Mineral Resource governance  

International Resource Panel 

United Nations Environment Programme/Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Joint Environment Unit (UNEP/OCHA JEU)  

Environmental Emergencies Forum 

Flash Environmental Assessment Tool (FEAT) 

UNDRR Words into Action guidelines - Implementation Guide on man-made and technological hazards 

- Environmental Emergency Centre online training 

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) 

International Conference on Ensuring Industrial Safety 

https://www.unido.org/ensuring-industrial-safety-and-security-times-covid-19-and-beyond  

World Health Organization (WHO)  

WHO European Centre for Environment and Health 

International health regulations 

Chemical safety 

- Environmental health in emergencies 

European Process Safety Centre (EPSC) 

Network for companies with hazardous chemicals to improve on Process Safety 

Process Safety Fundamentals: Safe Operational Principles to avoid incidents with hazardous chemicals