UNEP confirms date for mercury COP1
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has confirmed September 24 to 29, 2017 date for the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP1).
UNEP, in a statement on the Minamata Convention web site said the COP1 is scheduled to take place from 24 to 29 September 2017 at the International Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Conference is expected to be preceded on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 September by preparatory meetings, including regional and Bureau meetings. The Conference opens in the afternoon of Sunday 24 September and will culminate on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 September with a high level segment entitled “Making mercury history”.
The convening of the Conference is subject to the prior entry into force of the Minamata Convention, which requires the deposit of fifty instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession by States or regional economic integration organizations.
As at February 3, 2017, 128 countries have signed the Convention while 38 have ratified it.
During the seventh session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee, the secretariat was asked to seek input from Governments and interested stakeholders on a number of issues to be considered further at COP1. The secretariat has received submissions in that regards.
The intergovernmental negotiating committee requested the secretariat to prepare draft guidance on interim storage of mercury other than waste mercury. Experts have provided input to the secretariat on this draft guidance, and a revised version is available for comments. Interested stakeholders are invited to provide comments to the interim secretariat at mercury.chemicals@unep.org by 23 March 2017.
The intergovernmental negotiating committee also requested the secretariat to prepare a number of documents relating to effectiveness evaluation. Initial draft versions of the roadmap for the Conference of the Parties towards the availability of comparable monitoring data, as well as the draft report with recommendations on the establishment of arrangements are available for comments. Interested stakeholders are invited to provide comments to the interim secretariat at mercury.chemicals@unep.org by 23 March 2017.
The Minamata Convention on mercury was negotiated by the global community between 2010 and 2013, adopted and opened for signature on 10 October 2013 at a Diplomatic Conference in Kumamoto, Japan to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and release of mercury and its compounds.
