The second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5.2), is scheduled to take place from 5 to 14 August 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Since 2022, countries all over the world have convened in five countries for the INC, to develop an international legally binding instrument against plastic pollution. Over the three years, five INC meetings have been convened to develop an international instrument to address plastic pollution, with the most recent INC5 held in Busan, South Korea. INC5 in Busan was expected to be the last convening in the development of the instrument, however, deliberations and negotiations didn’t meet much convergence as several key issues regarding the treaty such as the treaty’s focus couldn’t be fully resolved. The lack of convergence on key matters related to the treaty such as if the treaty should focus on plastic waste reduction or address the entire life cycle of plastic were few of the major points of divergence that led to the extension of the negotiations to the second part. Other key issues that led to the resolution to extend the INC5 negotiations to a second part included negotiations on finance for implementation of the treaty and production of primary polymers.

Gender and plastics intersects at every angle, yet, the conversations and focus on gender in the global plastic treaty seem minimal as compared to other crosscutting issues. At Women for a change (Wfac), participating in the INC negotiations over the years has helped in shaping and fostering civil society participation and inclusion of gender dynamics in the conversations and negotiation of the instrument. Working together with the Women’s Major Group alongside other gender activists, our participation in this INC5.2 further strengthens our position and commitments towards exploring and highlighting the intersection of plastics with gender as the global treaty negotiation peaks to take a comprehensive, full life cycle approach, addressing plastic from design and production to disposal and waste management.

For more information on our participation at the INC5.2, please stay up to date with our social media handles at Facebook|Twitter|Instagram: @Wfaccmr