Use of pesticides in agriculture
Recommendation 543
(1969)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 27 January 1969 (20th Sitting) (see Doc. 2502, report of the Committee on Agriculture). Text adopted by the Assembly on 27 January 1969 (20th Sitting).
The Assembly,
1. Having examined the report presented by its Committee on Agriculture ;
2. Aware of the risks entailed by the increasingly widespread, frequently uncontrolled and often excessive use of pesticides in agriculture, both for the conservation of nature and natural resources and for human health ;
3. Anxious, in particular, about the long-term dangers created by the persistence of poisonous products in the form of residues in vegetal and animal products for general consumption ;
4. Considering that the attention of the public should be called to these dangers, and the various categories of users fully informed of them ;
5. Having noted the efforts already made, including those of manufacturers, to reduce the toxicity of anti-parasite products and to avoid the dangers entailed by their unregulated handling and use ;
6. Considering that extensive surveys still need to be made on the toxicological evaluation of certain products and on the residues of the pesticides used ;
7. Considering that, to be effective, the necessary regulations need to be drawn up jointly, at European level ;
8. Having been informed of the work already being carried out by various international organisations, and welcoming in particular the work done in this field by the Council of Europe committees of experts ;
10. Considering the importance attached by the Committee of Ministers to this problem in the Intergovernmental Work Programme of the Council of Europe,
11. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers strengthen the facilities and widen the range of activities of the European Committee for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and of the Public Health Committee of the Partial Agreement, inviting them in their respective fields :
a to direct their work to :
11.1.1 the toxicological evaluation of new products and of products for which essential basic information is still unavailable ;
11.1.2 the total elimination of all poisonous residues in foodstuffs, notably by :
forbidding, or at least strictly controlling, the use of pesticides with a high degree of cumulative toxicity and considerable persistence ; and
developing biological methods ;
11.1.3 regularly listing in full the national data concerning the residues of pesticides used ;
11.1.4 educating users and making them truly aware of the problems inherent in the use of pesticides, both as regards nature conservation and public health ;
11.1.5 convening, under the auspices of the Council of Europe, a European conference on the use of pesticides, to be attended by qualified representatives of all interested circles (toxicologists, doctors, veterinary surgeons, ecologists, manufacturers, users and consumers), to define the bases for effective regulations on, and control of, the manufacture, marketing and use of pesticides, with a view to drawing up a European code ;
b to associate the Assembly with the above tasks, and particularly points (iv) and (v) concerning consumer education and the holding of a conference.
