Minamata Convention on Mercury

Minamata Convention

Minamata Convention on Mercury
Type	United Nations treaty
Signed	10 October 2013 (2013-10-10)
Location	Kumamoto, Japan
Effective	16 August 2017 (2017-08-16)
Condition	Ninety days after the ratification by at least 50 states
Signatories	128[1]
Parties	65[1]
Depositary	Secretary-General of the United Nations
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. This Convention was a result of three years of meeting and negotiating, after which the text of the Convention was approved by delegates representing close to 140 countries on 19 January 2013 in Geneva and adopted and signed later that year on 10 October 2013 at a Diplomatic Conference held in Kumamoto, Japan. The Convention is named after the Japanese city Minamata. This naming is of symbolic importance as the city went through a devastating incident of mercury poisoning. It is expected that over the next few decades, this international agreement will enhance the reduction of mercury pollution from the targeted activities responsible for the major release of mercury to the immediate environment.^[2]

Background 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.^[3]

History of the negotiations

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.^[4] For more than a decade, 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.^[5]

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.^[6] 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^[7][8]
• INC 2, 24 to 28 January 2011, in Chiba, Japan ^[9][10]
• INC 3, 31 October to 4 November 2011, in Nairobi, Kenya ^[11][12]
• INC 4, 27 June to 2 July 2012, in Punta del Este, Uruguay ^[13][14]
• INC 5, 13 to 18 January 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland ^[15][16]

On 19 January 2013, after negotiating late into the night, the negotiations concluded with close to 140 governments agreeing to the draft convention text.^[17] 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.^[18][19][20] The European Union and 86 countries signed the Convention on the first day it was opened for signature.^[21] 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.

The Convention will enter into force 90 days after it has been ratified (or accepted, approved or acceded to) by 50 States or regional economic integration organizations. Provided the fifty-ratification milestone is met on 24 June 2017, the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP1) will take place from 24 to 29 September 2017 in Geneva. 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."^[22]

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.

List of signatories and ratifiers

Participant	Signature	Ratification, Acceptance (A), Approval (AA), Accession (a)
Albania	9 October 2014
Angola	11 October 2013
Antigua and Barbuda	-	23 September 2016 (a)
Argentina	10 October 2013
Armenia	10 October 2013
Australia	10 October 2013
Austria	10 October 2013
Bangladesh	10 October 2013
Belarus	23 September 2014
Belgium	10 October 2013
Benin	10 October 2013	7 November 2016
Bolivia	10 October 2013	26 January 2016
Botswana	–	3 June 2016 (a)
Brazil	10 October 2013
Bulgaria	10 October 2013
Burkina Faso	10 October 2013
Burundi	14 February 2014
Cambodia	10 October 2013
Cameroon	24 September 2014
Canada	10 October 2013	7 April 2017
Central African Republic	10 October 2013
Chad	25 September 2014	24 September 2015
Chile	10 October 2013
China	10 October 2013	31 August 2016[23]
Colombia	10 October 2013
Comoros	10 October 2013
Republic of the Congo	8 October 2014
Costa Rica	10 October 2013
Côte d'Ivoire	10 October 2013
Croatia	24 September 2014
Cyprus	24 September 2014
Czech Republic	10 October 2013
Denmark	10 October 2013
Djibouti	10 October 2013	23 September 2014
Dominican Republic	10 October 2013
Ecuador	10 October 2013	29 July 2016
Ethiopia	10 October 2013
European Union	10 October 2013
Finland	10 October 2013
France	10 October 2013
Gabon	30 June 2014	24 September 2014 (A)
Gambia	10 October 2013	7 November 2016
Georgia	10 October 2013
Germany	10 October 2013
Ghana	24 September 2014	23 March 2017
Greece	10 October 2013
Guatemala	10 October 2013
Guinea	25 November 2013	21 October 2014
Guinea-Bissau	24 September 2014
Guyana	10 October 2013	24 September 2014
Honduras	24 September 2014	22 March 2017
Hungary	10 October 2013
India	30 September 2014
Indonesia	10 October 2013
Iran	10 October 2013
Iraq	10 October 2013
Ireland	10 October 2013
Israel	10 October 2013
Italy	10 October 2013
Jamaica	10 October 2013
Japan	10 October 2013	2 February 2016 (A)
Jordan	10 October 2013	12 November 2015
Kenya	10 October 2013
Kuwait	10 October 2013	3 December 2015
Latvia	24 September 2014
Lesotho	–	12 November 2014 (a)
Liberia	24 September 2014
Libya	10 October 2013
Liechtenstein		1 February 2017 (a)
Lithuania	10 October 2013
Luxembourg	10 October 2013
Republic of Macedonia	25 July 2014
Madagascar	10 October 2013	13 May 2015
Malawi	10 October 2013
Malaysia	24 September 2014
Mali	10 October 2013	27 May 2016
Malta	8 October 2014
Mauritania	11 October 2013	18 August 2015
Mauritius	10 October 2013
Mexico	10 October 2013	29 September 2015
Moldova	10 October 2013
Monaco	24 September 2014	24 September 2014
Mongolia	10 October 2013	28 September 2015
Montenegro	24 September 2014
Morocco	6 June 2014
Mozambique	10 October 2013
Nepal	10 October 2013
Netherlands	10 October 2013
New Zealand	10 October 2013
Nicaragua	10 October 2013	29 October 2014
Niger	10 October 2013
Nigeria	10 October 2013
Norway	10 October 2013
Pakistan	10 October 2013
Palau	9 October 2014
Panama	10 October 2013	29 September 2015
Paraguay	10 February 2014
Peru	10 October 2013	21 January 2016
Philippines	10 October 2013
Poland	24 September 2014
Romania	10 October 2013
Russia	24 September 2014
Samoa	10 October 2013	24 September 2015
Senegal	11 October 2013	3 March 2016
Serbia	9 October 2014
Seychelles	27 May 2014	13 January 2015
Sierra Leone	12 August 2014	1 November 2016
Singapore	10 October 2013
Slovakia	10 October 2013
Slovenia	10 October 2013
South Africa	10 October 2013
South Korea	24 September 2014
Spain	10 October 2013
Sri Lanka	9 October 2014
Sudan	24 September 2014
Sweden	10 October 2013
Swaziland	–	21 September 2016 (a)
Switzerland	10 October 2013	25 May 2016
Syria	24 September 2014
Tanzania	10 October 2013
Togo	10 October 2013	3 February 2017
Tunisia	10 October 2013
Turkey	24 September 2014
Uganda	10 October 2013
United Arab Emirates	10 October 2013	27 April 2015
United Kingdom	10 October 2013
United States	6 November 2013	6 November 2013 (A)
Uruguay	10 October 2013	24 September 2014
Venezuela	10 October 2013
Vietnam	11 October 2013
Yemen	21 March 2014
Zambia	10 October 2013	11 March 2016
Zimbabwe	11 October 2013

Overview of the Convention

The objective of the Minamata Convention is to protect the human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. It contains, in support of this objective, provisions that relate to the entire life cycle of mercury, including controls and reductions across a range of products, processes and industries where mercury is used, released or emitted. The treaty also addresses the direct mining of mercury, its export and import, its safe storage and its disposal once as waste. Pinpointing populations at risk, boosting medical care and better training of health-care professionals in identifying and treating mercury-related effects will also result from implementing the Convention.

The Minamata Convention provides controls over a myriad of products containing mercury, the manufacture, import and export of which will be altogether prohibited by 2020, except where countries have requested an exemption for an initial 5-year period. These products include certain types of batteries, of lamps such as compact fluorescent lamps, of  and relays, soaps and cosmetics, thermometers, and blood pressure devices. Dental fillings which use mercury amalgam are also regulated under the Convention, and their use must be phased down through a number of measures.^[22]

Text and provisions

Disclaimer : The below information aims at providing a rapid overview of the Convention. It neither represents an interpretation of the text of the Minamata Convention by UN Environment or the Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention, nor does it substitute the original authentic texts of the Minamata Convention on Mercury as deposited with the Secretary General of the UN acting as the Depositary.

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]

Article 1

• States the objective of the Convention, which is “to protect the human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds”.

Article 2

• Sets out definitions used in more than one Article of the Convention, including:
•  “Artisanal and small-scale gold mining” which refers to gold mining conducted by individual miners or small enterprises with limited capital investment and production;
• “Best available techniques”;
• “Best environmental practices” means using the most appropriate combination of environmental control measures and strategies;
• "Mercury" specifically refers to elemental mercury (Hg), CAS No. 7439-97-6);
• “Mercury compound”;
• “Mercury-added product” refers to a product or product component that contains mercury or a mercury compound that was intentionally added;
• “Party” and “Parties present and voting”;
• “Primary mercury mining”;
• “Regional economic integration organization”;
• “Use allowed”.

Article 3

• Addresses the question of mercury supply sources and trade.
• The provisions of this Article do not apply to mercury compounds used for laboratory research, naturally occurring trace quantities of mercury or mercury compounds present, mercury-added products.
• It prohibits parties to allow mercury mining that was not being conducted prior to the date of entry into force of the Convention for them, and it only allows mercury mining that was conducted at the date of entry into force for up to fifteen years after that date.
• It encourages countries to identify individual stocks of mercury or mercury compounds exceeding 50 metric tons as well as sources of mercury supply generating stocks exceeding 10 metric tons per year. If excess mercury from the decommissioning of chlor alkali facilities is available, such mercury is disposed of in accordance with the guidelines for environmentally sound management using operations that do not lead to recovery, recycling, reclamation, direct re-use or alternative uses.
• Parties are not allowed to export mercury without the written consent of the importing Party and only for either environmentally sound interim storage or a use allowed. These controls only apply to mercury, not to either mercury compounds or mercury-added products.

Article 4

• Addresses the question of Mercury-added products.
• The Convention employs two approaches to controlling mercury in products, namely setting a phase-out date for some, and specifying measures to be taken in allowing continued use for others.

Article 5

• Deals with manufacturing processes in which mercury or mercury compounds are used.
• Sets out measures either to phase out or to restrict such existing processes.
• It also does not allow the development of new facilities that would use manufacturing processes listed in Annex B and discourages the development of new manufacturing processes in which mercury or mercury compounds are intentionally used.

Article 6

• Relates to exemptions available to a Party upon request.
• A State or regional economic integration organization can register for one or more exemptions from the phase out dates listed in Parts I of Annexes A and B.
• They do so on becoming a Party, or in the case of a product or process that is added by amendment to the list, no later than the date upon which that amendment enters into force for it.
• Exemptions can be registered for a listed category or an identified sub-category.
• The registration is made by notifying the Secretariat in writing, and must be accompanied by a statement explaining the Party’s need for the exemption.

Article 7

• Deals with the question of artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing in which mercury amalgamation is used to extract gold from ore.
• Each Party that has small-scale gold mining and processing within its territory has the general obligation to take steps to reduce the use of mercury and mercury compounds in such mining and processing needs to reduce, and where feasible eliminate, the use of mercury and mercury compounds in mining and processing, as well as the emissions and releases to the environment of mercury from such activities.
• Additional obligations, including the development and implementation of a national action plan, are laid out for a Party that determines that artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing in its territory is more than insignificant.

Article 8

• Concerns emissions of mercury and mercury compounds.
• It aims at controlling and, where feasible, reducing emissions of mercury and mercury compounds to the atmosphere, through measures to control emissions from the point sources listed in Annex D.
• The Article differentiates between measures required for new sources and those required for existing sources. Releases to land and water are not addressed in Article 8 – they are addressed in Article 9 of the Convention.

Article 9

• Addresses the releases of mercury and mercury compounds to land and water
• Aims at controlling and where feasible reducing releases of mercury and mercury compounds from significant anthropogenic point sources that are not addressed in other provisions of the Convention.
• Each state should within three years after of date of entry into force of the Convention identify the relevant point source categories of releases of mercury into land and water.

Article 10

• Applies to the environmentally sound interim storage of mercury other than waste mercury.
• Parties are requested to take measures to ensure that mercury and mercury compounds that are intended for a use allowed under the Convention are stored in an environmentally sound manner, taking into account any guidelines and in accordance with any requirements that the Conference of Parties adopts.

Article 11

• Deals with mercury wastes, including their definition, their management in an environmentally sound manner and transportation across international boundaries.

Article 12

• Deals with contaminated sites.
• Each state needs to endeavour to develop appropriate strategies for identifying and assessing sites contaminated by mercury or mercury compounds.
• When taking action to reduce the risks posed by sites contaminated by mercury or mercury compounds, each Party is required to ensure that actions are performed in an environmentally sound manner, and actions incorporate, where appropriate, an assessment of the risks to human health and the environment from mercury or mercury compounds contained in these sites.

Article 13

• Relates to the question of financial resources and mechanism.
• Establishes a mechanism for the provision of adequate, predictable and timely financial resources, comprising the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund and a specific international programme to support capacity building and technical assistance.

Article 14

• Addresses the issues of capacity-building, technical assistance and technology transfer.
• Calls for cooperation between Parties to provide timely and appropriate capacity-building and technical assistance to developing country Parties, including through regional, sub regional and national arrangements.

Article 15

• Establishes an Implementation and Compliance Committee to promote implementation of, and compliance with, all provisions of this Convention.
• The Committee comprises 15 members nominated by Parties and elected by the Conference of the Parties.
• Issues can be taken up by the Committee on self-referral by a Party, on the basis of information submitted under the reporting provisions, or upon request from the Conference of the Parties.

Article 16

• Relates to health aspects.
• It encourages Parties to promote the development and implementation of strategies and programmes to identify and protect populations at risk It encourages Parties to adopt and implement science based educational and preventive programmes on occupational exposure to mercury and mercury compounds.
• It encourages Parties to promote appropriate health-care services for prevention, treatment and care for populations affected by the exposure to mercury or mercury compounds.
• Finally it encourages Parties to establish and strengthen institutional and health professional capacities.

Article 17

• Deals with information exchange.
• Each party shall facilitate the exchange of information.

Article 18

• Stresses the importance of public information, awareness and education.

Article 19

• Relates to research, development and monitoring.

Article 20

• Deals with the possibility for Parties to develop an implementation plan.

Article 21

• Parties shall report to the Conference of the Parties, through the secretariat on the measures taken to implement the provisions of the Convention  and the effectiveness of those measures as well as the possible challenges in meeting the objectives of the Convention.
• Parties shall include in their reporting the information called for in the different articles of the Convention.

Article 22

• Deals with effectiveness evaluation.
• The Conference of the Parties needs to evaluate the effectiveness of the Convention no later than six years after the date of entry into force and periodically thereafter.

Article 23

• Establishes the Conference of the Parties.

Article 24

• Establishes the Secretariat, which is to be provided by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Article 25

• Deals with the settlement of disputes between Parties.

Article 26

• Sets the rules for the amendments to the Convention.
• Amendments to the Convention may be proposed by any Party, and they must be adopted at a meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
• Ratification (acceptance or approval) of an amendment shall be notified to the Depositary in writing.

Article 27

• Sets the rules for adoption and amendment of annexes.

Article 28

• Establishes the rules for the right to vote: one party, one vote, except in the case of a regional economic integration organization, which, on matters within its competence, shall exercise its right to vote with a number of votes equal to the number of its members States that are Parties to the Convention. Such an organization shall not exercise its right to vote if any of its member States exercises its right to vote and vice versa.

Article 29

• Relates to the signature of the Convention, which was open for one year until 9 October 2014.

Article 30

• Deals with the ratification, acceptance, approval of the Convention or accession thereto.

Article 31

• Deals with the Convention’s entry into the force, which will take place on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

Article 32

• States that no make reservations may be made to the Convention.

Article 33

• Gives the right to Parties to withdraw from the Convention at any time after three years from the date on which the Convention has entered into force for them, through written notification to the Depositary.
• Any such withdrawal shall take effect one year after the receipt of the notification by the depositary or any later specified date.

Article 34

• Names The Secretary-General of the United Nations as the Depositary of this Convention.

Article 35

• States that the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of the Convention are equally authentic.^[24]

Mercury Club

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]

See also

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

External links

• Official website of the Minamata Convention on Mercury

References