The Stockholm Convention has established a network of 16 regional and sub-regional centres (SCRCs) to provide technical assistance and to promote the transfer of technology to developing country parties and parties with economies in transition relating to the implementation of their obligations under the Convention.
These autonomous institutions operate under the authority of the Conference of the Parties, the decision-making organ of the Convention composed of all the countries party to the Convention.
Geographic locations of the Regional Centres
The Regional centres have been established in the institutions that possessed relevant expertise and capacity to undertake the task of providing technical assistance and capacity-building to the eligible countries. The Centres have been mandated through clear terms of reference and the guidance on technical assistance and the transfer of technologies. A methodology for the evaluation of their performances has been developed, based on specific criteria. These mandates and guidance aim at ensuring an efficient regional delivery of technical assistance in a highly professional manner.
The task of providing technical assistance and capacity-building for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention requires a wide range of expertise. It is certainly a challenging task for any single institution including those established as regional centres to demonstrate the existence of such expertise in all areas. The Centres, however, meet this challenge successfully by possessing a diverse expertise based among the regional centres and by operating in a coordinated manner.