Minanamata Convention Implementation

The entry into force of the Minamata Convention on Mercury was on 16 August 2017
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury.
The Minamata Convention draws attention to a global and ubiquitous metal that, while naturally occurring, has broad uses in everyday objects and is released to the atmosphere, soil and water from a variety of sources. Controlling the anthropogenic releases of mercury throughout its lifecycle has been a key factor in shaping the obligations under the Convention.
Major highlights of the Minamata Convention include a ban on new mercury mines, the phase-out of existing ones, the phase out and phase down of mercury use in a number of products and processes, control measures on emissions to air and on releases to land and water, and the regulation of the informal sector of artisanal and small-scale gold mining. The Convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues.
Further to the entry into force of the Minamata Convention on Mercury on 16 August 2017, negotiators gathered in Geneva from 24 to 29 September 2017 at the Convention's first meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

Efforts by AMDC towards ASM and the Minamata Convention

In May 2017 from the 24th to the 26th, AMDC hosted a workshop towards building capacity for environmental sustainability in ASM. The objectives of the meeting were to:

• Increase awareness and understanding of regional/country needs and perspectives on the challenges of improving environmental governance of artisanal mining including through formalization;
• Present key available tools and best practices in the environmental governance of ASM and formalization;
• Identify partnerships and synergy to be promoted both at Regional and Sub-regional levels among agencies and partners on environmental governance of artisanal and small scale mining, particularly on knowledge management and
• Inform the CMV process, within the target countries participating in the regional meeting

An outcome of the workshop was the continued support for the ambitious but necessary goal for AMDC to embark on and continue to grow an ASM Knowledge Hub within the context of an African Regional Minerals Knowledge Hub.

(Click here for the full Report of the Meeting)

The identification of partnerships and synergy to be promoted both at Regional and Sub-regional levels among agencies and partners on environmental governance of ASM, particularly on knowledge management – has made it necessary to work with UN Environment to integrate tools on monitoring active Minamata Initial Assessments and National Action Plans for Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM).