HEJSupport, together with Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF), Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Germany, and the German NGO Forum on Environment and Development, has submitted recommendations to the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) regarding the development of the workplan on endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) under the Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC).
In the submission, the organisations stress that endocrine-disrupting chemicals remain a major global health and environmental threat that requires continued and coordinated international action. EDCs are found throughout the environment and in human populations worldwide, where they are linked to a wide range of adverse health effects, including impacts on reproductive health, development, metabolism, and hormone systems.
The submission calls for EDCs to remain a dedicated Issue of Concern under the Global Framework on Chemicals, supported by an ambitious workplan and adequate funding. The organisations warn that merely mainstreaming EDCs into other workstreams is insufficient and risks weakening international efforts to address this complex and cross-cutting issue.
The recommendations highlight several priority areas for action, including:
- Supporting countries in developing and enforcing stronger regulations to reduce exposure to EDCs.
- Advancing the identification and classification of endocrine disruptors, including recognition of EDCs as a hazard class under the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
- Promoting safer alternatives and preventing regrettable substitution through independent alternatives assessments.
- Developing model laws and policy tools to support national and regional action.
- Strengthening scientific research, including the generation of sex- and gender-disaggregated data.
- Enhancing monitoring of EDC exposure and linking monitoring efforts to regulatory measures.
- Establishing a global knowledge-sharing platform on EDCs, assessment methodologies, and regulatory approaches.
- Integrating EDC-related activities with the Gender Action Plan and other Issues of Concern under the GFC.
The organisations also emphasise the importance of ensuring that information-sharing activities, including the dissemination of the updated UNEP/WHO State of the Science Report on EDCs, are accessible, inclusive, and available in multiple languages. Particular attention should be given to supporting regulators, civil society organisations, and stakeholders from the Global South.
HEJSupport and the partner signatories look forward to continued engagement with IOMC, governments, civil society, and other stakeholders to ensure that endocrine-disrupting chemicals remain a priority within the Global Framework on Chemicals and that effective measures are implemented to protect human health and the environment from harmful exposures.
