We, Ministers of Environment and head of delegations of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer;

Having accepted the invitation of the Government of Burkina Faso to the high-level segment of the Twelfth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Ouagadougou, from 13 to 14 December 2000;

Having noted the progress made by all the Parties in the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances;

Taking note of the cooperation between the Montreal Protocol and the Basel Convention that was called for at this meeting.

Fully appreciating the important work carried out by national Governments, the Multilateral Fund and various agencies in the areas of dissemination of information, awareness‑raising and capacity-building;

Reaffirming, at the beginning of the new millennium, our commitment to protect the ozone layer by ensuring the effective implementation of the Montreal Protocol and, where possible, accelerating our efforts to phase out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances;

Taking into account the importance of national action and international cooperation to address the differentiated situation of developing countries in the implementation of the Montreal Protocol;

Noting, however, that much more work remains to be done to ensure the protection of the ozone layer;

Declare the following:

1. We highly appreciate the important progress made in the implementation of the Montreal Protocol over the last decade since the adoption of the Helsinki Declaration, as demonstrated by the virtual elimination of the production and consumption of CFCs since 1 January 1996 by the Parties not operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5, and the significant aggregate reductions in ozone‑depleting substances achieved to date by Parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5;

2. We express our profound gratitude to the governments and the international organizations, the industrial sector, experts and groups involved who have contributed to this progress;

3. We encourage all Parties to take the necessary steps to prevent illegal production and consumption, and trade in ozone-depleting substances and equipment and products containing them;

4. We encourage strong international cooperation and national action in the areas of::

transfer of technology;

know-how and capacity-building, and

harmonized of customs codes;

5. We appeal for the timely payment of agreed national contributions to the Multilateral Fund for the implementation of the Montreal Protocol;

6. We encourage all Parties to ratify and implement in full the amendments to the Montreal Protocol;

7. We invite the Parties to integrate ozone layer protection into socio-economic development programmes;

8. We encourage all Parties to adopt and apply regulations and pursue awareness-raising campaigns for the public and all stakeholders who use ozone-depleting substances, and encourage the adoption of more environmentally sound alternatives.

9. We encourage regional ozone networks to continue to assist National Ozone Units.

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