The five days of negotiations 25-29 January come in response to
world-wide concern over the dangers to public health and the
environment posed by POPs like PCBs and DDT. The UNEP Governing
Council mandate calls on countries to reach an international
convention on POPs by the year 2000. The Nairobi meeting builds
on the first round of talks in Montreal, Canada from 29 June to
2 July 1998 where countries reached early consensus on the way
forward. In addressing the plenary session, UNEP Deputy
Executive Director Shafqat Kakakhel expressed confidence
governments "will act deliberately and decisively here in
Nairobi to bring the world closer to the vital safeguards of a
POPs convention." Citing the progress made in Montreal, Kakakhel
described the work on a global treaty as "on target and on
time," and said negotiators' "clear and committed action
reflects the sad reality that POPs represent." "These
persistent, toxic pollutants travel long distances, far from
their source to remote parts of the world," Kakakhel