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LAST CHANCE SALOON MULTIMODAL • WITH THE SUMMER MEETING HAVING BEEN A CASUALTY OF COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS, THE UN EXPERTS HAD A LOT TO CATCH UP ON AT THEIR LAST SESSION OF THE BIENNIUM
Organisation (IMO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and 28 nongovernmental organisations. The meeting began by reviewing the draft amendments adopted at the 55th and 56th sessions, which were all confirmed, including those that had been left in square brackets.
THE UN SUB-COMMITTEE of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (TDG) held its 57th session, the last of the 2019/2020 biennium, this past 30 November to 8 December under the chairmanship of Duane Pfund (US), with Claude Pfauvadel (France) as vice-chair. In view of the continuing travel restrictions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the session took place virtually, with only the chair and vice-chair, along with secretary Romain Hubert present in Geneva. The session also had to contend with a shortage of interpreters, which are necessary to allow
devoted to discussion and the afternoons to formal approvals. Given that the planned summer session had been postponed, there was a lot to get done, although there had been a lot of discussion via an online workspace and in the event many decisions were reached, which will appear in the 22nd revised edition of the UN Model Regulations, due for publication later this year. Some decisions also affect the Manual of Tests and Criteria. The virtual meeting was attended by representatives of 23 countries and observers from Latvia, Luxembourg,
START WITH CLASS 1 As is traditional, the meeting began by reviewing the report of the ongoing labours of the Working Group on Explosives, which had held a virtual meeting in mid-November. It was noted that the Working Group had decided to defer its review of test series 6 to the next biennium and that the Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME) had agreed to prepare an official proposal on the potential improvement of test series 8 for consideration at a forthcoming session. The Working Group had, though, made a lot of headway with its long-running review of the tests in parts I, II and III of the Manual of Tests and Criteria, which aims to remove
the Sub-committee to agree decisions, as a result of which the mornings were
Romania, and Turkey. Also in attendance were representatives of the EU, the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Maritime
unnecessarily detailed descriptions and over-specification of non-critical materials. That work had over the past two biennia moved onto a review of Test Series H and a lengthy proposal was now made for a complete revision of Section 28, which was agreed and adopted by the Sub-committee.
THE PALAIS DES NATIONS HAS BEEN SHORT OF VISITORS DURING THE PANDEMIC
HCB MONTHLY | MARCH 2021
