On 23 October 2024, the Embassy of Ecuador in Japan, in partnership with the United Nations University, will host a public lecture “Update on the Negotiations of the Treaty on Plastic Pollution, Including in the Marine Environment".
The lecture will be delivered by Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso, Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution and the current Ambassador of Ecuador to the United Kingdom. The event will take place at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo, starting at 3:30 pm.
Plastic pollution is a global crisis affecting our environment, ecosystems, and human health. In response to this pressing issue, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), through resolution 5/14 of 2022, requested to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) with the mandate to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment with the ambition of completing its work by the end of 2024. Since its establishment, the INC has made significant steps toward its goal, with the next milestone being the upcoming session -INC-5- in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 25 November to 1 December 2024. Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso, who has been Chair of the Committee since November 2023, will offer insights into the current state of negotiations, the challenges faced, and the progress made toward developing this vital global treaty on plastic pollution.
The lecture will be preceded by opening remarks from Ambassador César Montaño Huerta, Ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador to Japan, and from UNU Rector and UN Under-Secretary-General Tshilidzi Marwala. Dr Anupam Khajuria, Research Fellow and Academic Associate at the UNU Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) will provide closing remarks.
This event will provide a unique opportunity to learn about this important multilateral negotiation process that is in its final stretch directly from the Chair of the INC, as well as to engage in a Q&A session with the speaker. Following the lecture, attendees are invited to a post-event networking session, where they can enjoy Ecuadorian coffee and chocolate.
This event will be held in English and Japanese interpretation will not be provided. Advance registration (by 22 October) is required. Please click on the REGISTER button above to access the online registration page.
Please note that entry into the venue will not be allowed after 15:45. Please be prepared to present identification at check-in.
Programme
15:30–15:45 — Opening remarks
César Montaño Huerta, Ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador to Japan
- Tshilidzi Marwala, UNU Rector and UN Under-Secretary-General
15:45–16:15 — Lecture
- Luis Vayas Valdivieso, Chair of the INC / Ambassador of Ecuador to the United Kingdom
16:15–16:25 — Q&A session
16:25–16:30 — Closing remarks
- Dr Anupam Khajuria, Research Fellow and Academic Associate, UNU-IAS
16:30–16:45 — Post-event networking
About the speaker
Luis VAYAS-VALDIVIESO is a career diplomat of the Ecuadorian Foreign Service, currently Ambassador of Ecuador to the United Kingdom, and the Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution.
As a diplomat, he has served in the embassies of Ecuador to Sweden and to Spain, as well as in the Permanent Representation of Ecuador to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ambassador Vayas has extensive experience in international negotiations. In the multilateral environmental field, one of his life commitments, he was vice-president of the conference of the parties to the Basel Convention (2017-2019), to the Stockholm Convention (three terms: 2010-2011, 2013-2015 and 2015-2017) and to the Rotterdam Convention (2011-2013).
Another of his professional passions has been education, he has ample experience as a university professor. He has been lecturer on international relations.
Ambassador Vayas is a Ph.D. candidate in Social Sciences and holds a Master's Degree in Comparative and International Law.
Vayas has been decorated as Knight of the National Order of Merit, Ecuador (1997) and Grand Officer of the Order of Río Branco, Brazil (2023).
