The Rotterdam Convention is a legally binding multilateral environmental agreement (entered into force on February 24, 2004) promoting shared responsibility and cooperative efforts among Parties in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals, with the objective to contribute to their environmentally sound use and protect human health and the environment from potential harm. It facilitates information exchange about their characteristics, provides for a national decision-making process on their import and export and disseminates these decisions to the Parties.