Minamata Convention On Mercury:
Indonesia has introduced a global declaration that calls on parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury to tackle illegal trade of mercury.
- The declaration was read in Nusa Dua, Bali, where Indonesia is hosting the fourth Conference of Parties (COP4) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
- The conference is being held from 21st to 25th March 2022.
- The non-binding declaration calls upon parties to:
- Develop practical tools and notification and information-sharing systems for monitoring and managing trade in mercury.
- Exchange experiences and practices relating to combating illegal trade in mercury, including reducing the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
- Share examples of national legislation and data and information related to such trade.
Minamata Convention on Mercury:
- The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury and its compounds.
- It was agreed at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Geneva, Switzerland 2013.
- Controlling the anthropogenic releases of mercury throughout its lifecycle is one of the key obligations under the Convention.
- The Convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues.
- The Convention covers all aspects of the life cycle of mercury, controlling and reducing mercury across a range of products, processes and industries. This includes controls on:
- mercury mining
- the manufacture and trade of mercury and products containing mercury
- disposal of mercury waste
- emissions of mercury from industrial facilities.
- Countries that have ratified the Convention are bound by international law to put these controls in place.
India has ratified the Convention.
