Procedural vote resets leadership of stalled negotiations as global pressure builds for more substantive progress.
GENEVA (AN) — Julio Cordano, a veteran Chilean diplomat specializing in environmental and ocean governance, was elected chair of the United Nations process negotiating a global plastics treaty, marking a reset after months of deadlock.
Cordano was chosen on Saturday to lead the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee during a one-day session known as INC-5.3, convened in Geneva to restore continuity after negotiations stalled last year without agreed text.
A brief procedural session aims to reset leadership and process after divisions derailed talks last year.
The transaction follows a three-year campaign that attracted $78 million from thousands of international donors.
The resolution was paired with a measure on minerals and metals essential to AI and the clean energy transition.
The conference agreed on new protections for the pet trade and rejected eased restrictions on rhino horns and ivory.
A brief procedural session aims to reset leadership and process after divisions derailed talks last year.
The treaty entered into force in 2011 and was extended by five years in early 2021, pushing its expiration to this week.
Concerns over human rights and jurisdiction surface as Washington seeks security role at Milano-Cortina 2026.
Forty proposed panel members submitted for approval would serve in their personal capacities for a three-year term.
