In its resolution 5/8, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) decided that a science-policy panel should be established to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution. UNEA further decided to convene an OEWG to prepare proposals for the science-policy panel, to begin work in 2022 with the ambition of completing it by the end of 2024.
The third session of the ad hoc open-ended working group to prepare proposals for a science-policy panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution (OEWG 3) took place in June 2024 in Geneva. Despite making significant progress, delegates were unable to finalize the work. The resumed third session of the OEWG will take place from 15 to 18 June 2025 in Punta del Este, Uruguay, with the aim of finalizing the key documents enabling the establishment and operationalization of the SPP. The meeting will be preceded by regional consultations on 14 June 2025.