Eliminating Mercury: UNIDO’s Early Implementation of the Minamata Convention Project Highlights скачать в хорошем качестве

Eliminating Mercury: UNIDO’s Early Implementation of the Minamata Convention Project Highlights

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty aimed at protecting human health and the environment from the harmful effects of mercury and its compounds. As of November 2015, the Convention faced a critical milestone—it required ratification by at least 50 countries to enter into force. Without timely action, mercury pollution and its far-reaching socio-economic impacts would have continued unchecked. In response, UNIDO, in collaboration with the Government of Switzerland, played a pivotal role in accelerating the ratification process and supporting the early implementation of the Convention across 29 countries. These efforts were strategically aligned with other multilateral environmental agreements, such as the Basel Convention on the Control of Hazardous Wastes and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Driven by country-specific needs and contextual analysis, UNIDO engaged a broad network of public and private stakeholders to deliver targeted support. This included conducting research, convening technical workshops and training sessions, and providing policy recommendations to help governments strengthen their legal and institutional frameworks for sound mercury management. As a result, 5 of the 7 core participating countries ratified the Convention, along with 18 member states from the ECOWAS and SADC regions. Notably, Vietnam, Costa Rica, and Sri Lanka emerged as pivotal new signatories, helping the Convention reach the required threshold for entry into force. This is a comprehensive overview of project Promoting Ratification and Early Implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.