Rotterdam Convention Asbestos Side Event
Sascha Gabizon chaired a panel on the dangers of chrysotile asbestos
08.05.2013 |Laurie Kazan-Allen
Reflecting the high degree of interest regarding chrysotile asbestos generated by the obstructive behaviour of asbestos vested interests, there was a very good turnout. As well as dozens of official delegates from Iran, Bahrain, Malaysia, Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere, were representatives of Russian and Brazilian trade unionis aligned with the asbestos industry. International media also reported on it, such as Il Monferrato in Italy.
The panel of speakers consisted of campaigner Sugio Furuya from the Japan Occupational Health and Safety Centre, Brazilian Labor Inspector Fernanda Giannasi, filmmaker and Italian researcher Alessandro Pugno and activists Vladimir Kototenko and Elina Doszhanova from Kyrgyzstan and Kazaksthan respectively.
The side event was organized by the Rotterdam Convention Alliance and was facilitated by the group: Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF). The WECF's Sascha Gabizon chaired the session, a taxing job not made any easier by the boorish behaviour of Russian observer Andrey Kholzakov who tried to interrupt the proceedings on more than one occasion.
The speakers were in agreement regarding the crucial importance of listing chrysotile asbestos on Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention; they called on delegates to make every effort to resolve the current impasse over chrysotile in order to protect human health.
Related News
Meet the Winners of the Gender Just Climate Solutions Award at COP24
On the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we awarded Gender Just Climate Solutions Winners at the climate negotiations in Katowice, Poland
11.12.2018
Invitation: Gender Just Climate Solutions Award 2018
10 December, COP24 Katowice
04.12.2018
Getting to the Future We Want
4-7 November, Brussels: European Environmental Bureau’s (EEB) Annual Conference
12.11.2018
GoodFood4All
WECF and partners all over Europe start GoodFood4All Campaign
06.11.2018
#Ruralwomen: join our Women2030 campaign!
15.10.2018