ICC makes slow progress on POPs agreement

IQALUIT — The path to limiting use of the world’s deadly persistent organic pollutants is incredibly tedious, says Sheila Watt-Cloutier, the president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference Canada.

But Watt-Cloutier said that a recent round of negotiations in Geneva made some small steps in the right direction.

More than 500 representatives from 115 nations and non-governmental organizations met in Geneva last week, where they looked at how to limit the use of 12 of the most deadly POPs.

Pesticides such as DDT are still used in developing tropical countries to combat illnesses like malaria.

“We understand that,” said Watt-Cloutier. “If they’re losing their babies left and right, they’re going to be grasping at anything they can.”

But these POPs also end up in the breast milk of Inuit mothers, where they can lead to long-term health problems.

“Morthers in the Arctic should not have to worry about contaminants in the life-giving milk they feed their infants, nor should mothers in the South depend on these same chemicals to protect their children,” Watt-Cloutier argued in Geneva.

Watt-Cloutier said that as inexpensive and effective alternatives to DDT are found, the battle to eliminate POPs will become easier.

“The goal is to phase them out, but it’s going to be tough and there will have to be a timetable,” Watt-Cloutier said.

Two more rounds of negotiations are planned before the new United Nations convention on POPS is finalized.