Geneva, 5 November 2021 - More than 1,000 participants from governments and organizations attended the online segment of the Conference of Parties (COP-4) this week to negotiate the progress of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The virtually assembled delegates approved the programme of work and budget for the coming year, and agreed to resume the meeting from 21-25 March 2022 in Bali, Indonesia, in a face-to-face format with the aim of promoting inclusiveness for a smooth negotiation process.
A Secretariat delegation traveled to Jakarta to support the Indonesian Presidency, including the Convention's Executive Secretary Monika Stankiewicz. In her closing remarks, she congratulated the work and support behind a Conference of the Parties that "delivered on all expected outcomes and beyond, despite the online setting for the meeting".
Stankiewicz underlined that there is "an additional outcome of this meeting that cannot be found in any document from this session. It is the spirit of cooperation and dedication to the goal of the convention to reduce emissions and releases of mercury to protect human health and the environment shown by you, the Parties, and by all the observers whose ongoing collaboration has been vital to our endeavors".
COP-4 President Rosa Vivien Ratnawati welcomed the adoption of the dates for the second segment of the Conference, which will be held as an in-person meeting in her home country, Indonesia: "COP-4.2 is just less than five months from now. Let's work together and prepare ourselves for that meeting. It must be successful in developing frameworks for strengthening and implementing our Convention. It should not fail. I hope our close cooperation as family and friends could continue in COP-4.2 and beyond."
The programme of work and budget approved by COP-4 for 2022 covers all its activity lines, including conferences and meetings, capacity building and technical assistance, scientific and technical activities, knowledge management and communication, legal matters, and overall management of the Secretariat.
Parties stressed the importance of effectiveness evaluation to the Convention as a crucial element in meeting the main objective of protecting human health and the environment from toxic mercury. A review of how effective the Convention is in eradicating anthropogenic mercury emissions and releases is mandated to begin in 2023. Therefore, delegates highlighted that this essential, urgent issue requires a robust framework based on scientific evidence and data transparency. Discussions on this issue will continue intensively in the intersessional period in order to be consolidated in the next segment of the COP-4.
Another milestone for parties to take on is the first full cycle of national reports on the implementation of the Convention, which are due for submission by 31 December 2021. The meeting applauded the extensive rating response received from the first short reporting cycle in 2019, with 89 percent compliance and the draft guidance prepared by the Secretariat to support parties in the preparation of the reports, which is expected to be adopted during the COP-4 face-to-face session. The responses obtained will be a fundamental input for the effectiveness evaluation. Parties are already using the online reporting platform developed by the Secretariat, which has been accompanied by several virtual sessions to provide clarity and facilitate the preparation of the reports.
The COP-4 agenda also referred to the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which will conclude early next year. Delegates unanimously supported the GEF's key role as one of the financial mechanisms of the Minamata Convention and its direct contribution to capacity building for treaty implementation in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
GEF CEO and Chairperson Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, speaking at one of the Conference's side events, noted that "the impact of chemicals in nature, in biodiversity and climate change, is extremely high, so this is a good moment for all of us to really work in more integrated ways and manners. So, I look forward to continue supporting the Minamata Convention and the Parties: we need to, once more, be able to really focus on those areas that can give us leverage in terms of scale."
The government of Indonesia, as the host country, invited parties to contribute to the draft proposal for the elimination of illegal mercury trade worldwide. Under the name of Bali Declaration, this non-binding document will be released at the next segment of the COP.
Several side events during the week covered various topics such as the shared journey of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Minamata, the details of the financial mechanism, the implementation of the convention in the Caribbean, mercury monitoring in Canada and its indigenous populations, and support for effectiveness evaluation, among others. The week also featured an art break for a conversation with the director and lead actress of the film "Minamata". These side events provided an opportunity to exchange information and bring advances in technology, research, and materials of relevance to the attention of parties and the global community that the convention serves.
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About the Minamata Convention
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is the most recent global agreement on environment and health, adopted in 2013. It is named after the bay in Japan where, in the mid-20th century, mercury-tainted industrial wastewater poisoned thousands of people, leading to severe health damage that became known as the "Minamata disease". Since it entered into force on 16 August 2017, 135 Parties have been working together to control the mercury supply and trade, reduce the use, emission and release of mercury, raise public awareness, and build the necessary institutional capacity.
About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
