The IOMC was established in 1995 as an international coordinating group to promote sound chemical management worldwide, following recommendations of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and in particular those in Chapter 19 of Agenda 21 about toxic chemicals. FAO, ILO, UNEP, UNIDO, WHO and OECD were first to join the IOMC, followed by UNITAR in 1997, the World Bank in 2010, UNDP in 2012, and the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions in 2023.