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The Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an agreement to provide for the control and reduction of emissions of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in order to reduce their transboundary fluxes so as to protect human health and the environment from adverse effects.
The Executive Body adopted the Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants on 24 June 1998 in Aarhus (Denmark). It focuses on a list of 16 substances that have been singled out according to agreed risk criteria. The substances comprise eleven pesticides, two industrial chemicals and three by-products/contaminants.
It opened for signature on 1998-06-24 and entered into force on 2003-10-23.
As of May 2013, 32 states and the European Union have ratified the treaty; six have signed but not yet ratified.