Conceiving cooperation
1950 - 1971
Legal basis
The foundation of the ICPR five years after the end of World War II was a first political success. On 11 July 1950, the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution (ICPR) began its discussions on issues of Rhine protection and monitoring with a view to finding joint solutions. Mutual confidence had to be carefully created in the international working groups of the ICPR.
The high pollutant loads and the contamination of the Rhine with salt were of great concern for the downstream users.
Thirteen years after its foundation the ICPR was given a status under international law. On 29 April 1963 the envoys of the German, French, Luxembourgian, Dutch and Swiss government signed the "Convention on the international Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution" in Berne (only in German andFrench).
On year later (1964) a permanent international secretariat was established in Koblenz, Germany, in order to coordinate the cooperation of the contracting parties in the working languages German and French (since 1999 also in Dutch).