The Rotterdam Convention: Fighting for its Life, by Laurie Kazan-Allen. May 21, 2008.As its 10th anniversary  approaches, the Rotterdam Convention is facing an uncertain future. This multilateral agreement, which took years of negotiations to bring into existence, had the highest of intentions. It was devised to protect human beings and the environment in developing countries from exposure to dangerous substances by implementing a global protocol to insure that importing countries were fully informed of potential hazards. Thereby armed, they would be able to give prior informed consent regarding their ability to use these substances safely. [ See ]. Image from BTinternet.