As set out in Article 1, the objective of the Stockholm Convention is to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants.
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife, and have harmful impacts on human health or on the environment.
Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) can lead to serious health effects including certain cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to disease, and damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Given their long-range transport, no one government acting alone can protect its citizens or its environment from POPs.
In response to this global problem, the Stockholm Convention, which was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in 2004, requires its parties to take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment.
All Arctic States are party to the Convention, but the US, which signed but not ratified in 2001. The treaty does not apply to Greenland.