EARTH SUMMIT+5 Special Session of the General Assembly to Review and Appraise the Implementation of Agenda 21 New York, 23-27 June 1997 PROGRAMME FACT SHEETS

	National Profiles to Assess the National Infrastructure for the Sound Management of Chemicals.
	Responsible Organization(s)	National governments, UNITAR, and IOMC Participating Organizations (UNEP, ILO, FAO, WHO, UNIDO, OECD)
	Description	At the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety in 1994 governments made a commitment to develop a National Profile by 1997. The Profiles are documents developed by countries for countries involving all relevant ministries, agencies, NGOs, etc. They are considered to be evolving, living documents that will serve as a good basis for developing capacity building activities.
	Issues addressed	Agenda 21 recognized that a substantial use of chemicals is essential to meet the social and economic goals of the world community. Development by governments of national profiles provides the fundamental basis needed to institute environmentally sound policies and programmes for the management of chemicals.
	Objectives	A National Profile to assess the existing chemicals management infrastructure at the country level is an important first step for a country to identify its priorities and action strategies. Furthermore, such a profile could provide a basis for development of a comprehensive capacity-building strategy, for which international and bilateral development assistance agencies may effectively target their technical assistance and support.
	Results achieved	To date through funding provided by UNITAR, comprehensive national profiles have been developed by three countries. Additionally, a large number of other countries have taken an initial step by developing an interim, "mini" profile which focuses on legislative capacities; in the Americas Region the information has been compiled into a "regional" profile. UNITAR currently had funding to financially support 30 to 35 countries in the work of developing their comprehensive National Profiles and the selection of recipient countries from over 70 applicants is being completed.
	Lessons learned	The development of a national profile is an example of an effort involving all concerned parties at the country level both within and outside the government, while at the international level all key organizations concerned with chemicals management cooperate in key aspects of programme implementation.
	Financing	Governments, UNITAR, WHO.
	Contact	Mr. A. Halpaap, UNITAR Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Tel: (41-22) 798-8400 - Fax: (41-22) 733-1383