Minamata Convention on Mercury

Mercury is a naturally occurring element. It can be released to the environment from natural sources – such as weathering of mercury-containing rocks, forest fires, volcanic eruptions or geothermal activities – but also from human activities. An estimated 5500-8900 tons of mercury is currently emitted and re-emitted each year to the atmosphere, with much of the re-emitted mercury considered to be related to human activity, as are the direct releases.

Due to its unique properties, mercury has been used in various products and processes for hundreds of years. Currently, it is mostly utilised in industrial processes that produce chlorine (mercury chlor-alkali plants) or vinyl chloride monomer for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production, and polyurethane elastomers. It is extensively used to extract gold from ore in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. It is contained in products such as electrical switches (including thermostats), relays, measuring and control equipment, energy-efficient fluorescent light bulbs, batteries and dental amalgam. It is also used in laboratories, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, including in vaccines as a preservative, paints, and jewellery. Mercury is also released unintentionally from some industrial processes, such as coal-fired power and heat generation, cement production, mining and other metallurgic activities such as non-ferrous metals production, as well as from incineration of many types of waste.[4]

Mercury and mercury compounds have long been known to be toxic to human health and the environment. Large-scale public health crises due to mercury poisoning, such as Minamata disease and Niigata Minamata disease, drew attention to the issue. In 1972, delegates to the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment witnessed Japanese junior high school student Shinobu Sakamoto, disabled as the result of methylmercury poisoning in utero. The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment, previously UNEP) was established shortly thereafter.[5] UN Environment has been actively engaged in bringing the science of mercury poisoning to policy implementation. In 2001, the Executive Director of UN Environment was invited by its Governing Council to undertake a global assessment of mercury and its compounds, including the chemistry and health effects, sources, long-range transport, as well as prevention and control technologies relating to mercury.

In 2003, the Governing Council considered this assessment and found that there was sufficient evidence of significant global adverse impacts from mercury and its compounds to warrant further international action to reduce the risks to human health and the environment from their release to the environment. Governments were urged to adopt goals for the reduction of mercury emissions and releases and UN Environment initiated technical assistance and capacity-building activities to meet these goals.

A mercury programme to address the concerns posed by mercury was established and further strengthened by governments in 2005 and 2007 with the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership. In 2007, the Governing Council concluded that the options of enhanced voluntary measures and new or existing international legal instruments should be reviewed and assessed in order to make progress in addressing the mercury issue. In February 2009, the Governing Council of UNEP decided to develop a global legally binding instrument on mercury.[6]

An intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) was promptly established, through which countries negotiated and developed the text of the convention. Other stakeholders, including intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations also participated in the process and contributed through sharing of views, experience and technical expertise.[7] The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee was chaired by Fernando Lugris of Uruguay and supported by the Chemicals and Health Branch of UN Environment's Economy Division. The INC held five sessions to discuss and negotiate a global agreement on mercury:

• INC 1, 7 to 11 June 2010, in Stockholm, Sweden[8][9]
• INC 2, 24 to 28 January 2011, in Chiba, Japan [10][11]
• INC 3, 31 October to 4 November 2011, in Nairobi, Kenya [12][13]
• INC 4, 27 June to 2 July 2012, in Punta del Este, Uruguay [14][15]
• INC 5, 13 to 18 January 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland [16][17]

On 19 January 2013, after negotiating late into the night, the negotiations concluded with close to 140 governments agreeing to the draft convention text.[18] The Convention was adopted and opened for signature for one year on 10 October 2013, at a Conference of Plenipotentiaries (Diplomatic Conference) in Kumamoto, Japan, preceded by a Preparatory Meeting from 7–8 October 2013.[19][20][21] The European Union and 86 countries signed the Convention on the first day it was opened for signature.[22] A further 5 countries signed the Convention on the final day of the Diplomatic Conference, 11 October 2013. In total, the Convention has 128 signatories.

Fernando Lugris, the Uruguayan chair delegate, proclaimed, "Today in the early hours of 19 January 2013 we have closed a chapter on a journey that has taken four years of often intense but ultimately successful negotiations and opened a new chapter towards a sustainable future. This has been done in the name of vulnerable populations everywhere and represents an opportunity for a healthier and more sustainable century for all peoples."[3]

Further to the adoption of the Convention, the intergovernmental negotiating committee was mandated to meet during the interim period preceding the opening of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to facilitate its rapid entry into force and effective implementation upon entry into force. Two sessions of the INC were held:

• INC 6, 3 to 7 November 2014, in Bangkok, Thailand
• INC 7, 10 to 15 March 2016, in Dead Sea, Jordan

Discussions covered a number of technical, financial as well as administrative and operational aspects.

The Convention required to enter into force the deposit of fifty instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession by States or regional economic integration organizations. This fifty-ratification milestone was reached on 18 May 2017, hence the Convention entered into force on 16 August 2017 and held the first meeting of its Conference of the Parties (COP1) from 24 to 29 September 2017 in Geneva.

The Convention is made of 35 Articles and 5 Annexes, preceded by a Preamble.

The preamble of the Convention states that the Parties have recognized that mercury is, "a chemical of global concern owing to its long-range atmospheric transport, its persistence in the environment once anthropogenically introduced, its ability to bioaccumulate in ecosystems and its significant negative effects on human health and the environment."[24] It further refers to previous relevant decisions including of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme as well as to the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development "the future we want". The preamble recalls the lessons of the Minamata disease, in particular the serious safety and environmental effects resulting from mercury pollution and the need to ensure proper management of mercury and the prevention of such events in the future.

The importance of financial, technical, and technological and capacity building support, particularly for developing countries and countries with economies in transition to strengthen national capabilities for the management of mercury and order to promote the proper implementation of the Convention is stressed. The preamble also recognizes the activities of the World Health Organization in the protection of human health related to mercury as well as the roles of relevant multilateral environmental agreements, recognizing that the Convention and other international agreements in the field of environment and trade are mutually supportive.[24]

Within the conference a "Mercury Club" was established to support the negotiating process for the legally binding instrument on mercury. Three different types of awards, gold, silver and bronze, were presented and established "according to the level of contributions received in the time period between the 25th session of the UNEP Governing Council, where the decision to convene negotiations was taken, and the sixth session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee."[25] The recipient of award included governmental bodies, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and individuals. Contributions could be made in different form such as in cash or acts like hosting of a meeting directly related to the negotiations process.

Money contributions were awarded as followed:

• GOLD - contributions of USD 1,000,000 and more
• SILVER - contributions of USD 500,000 and more
• BRONZE - contributions of under USD 500,000[25]

GOLD certificates awarded to:[25]

• European Union
• Government of Japan
• Government of Norway
• Government of Sweden
• Government of Switzerland
• Government of the United States of America
• Government of Uruguay
• Nordic Council of Ministers[25]

SILVER certificates awarded to:[25]

• Government of Canada
• Government of China
• Government of France
• Government of Germany
• Government of Sweden[25]

BRONZE certificates awarded to: [25]

• African Union Commission
• Government of Austria
• Government of Belgium
• Government of Brazil
• Government of Burkina Faso
• Government of Canada
• Government of Chile
• Government of China
• Government of Colombia
• Corporacion Andina de Fomento
• Government of the Czech Republic
• Government of Denmark
• Government of Egypt
• Government of Finland
• Government of France
• Government of Gabon
• Government of Germany
• Global Environment Facility
• Government of India
• Government of Jamaica
• Government of Jordan
• Government of Kenya
• Government of the Netherlands
• Government of Poland
• Government of Senegal
• Government of Spain
• Government of Thailand
• Government of Tunisia
• Government of the United Kingdom[25]

• Environmental law
• Environmental protocol
• International law
• List of international environmental agreements
• Mercury cycle

• Official website of the Minamata Convention on Mercury