UNCED acknowledged the large number of national and international initiatives concerned with chemical safety. However it saw a need for, and proposed that, international cooperation relating to the environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals be enhanced. Implementation of this proposal is discussed in Section 2. UNCED identified, in Chapter 19 of Agenda 21, six technical Programme Areas for intensive action. The objectives and future directions for each Programme Area are outlined in Section 3, with details of existing activities (pre-UNCED) and recent developments being provided is Annex 1. The scope of Section 3 is not limited to relevant activities within the UN system. The activities of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Commission, of the European Union (CEU) relating to the management of chernicals are also reported because of their great significance at a global level.