Minamata Convention COP-5

At COP-5, IPEN tracked progress and discussions on many issues. Several developments included:  

• Progress was made on ending mercury use in dental amalgam, with Parties called on to regularly report their phase-out efforts. 
• IPEN called on Parties to support the Bali Declaration launched by Indonesia at COP-4, to combat the illegal trade of mercury and move toward ending the mercury trade globally, especially for its use in the ASGM sector.
• Calls continued for measures to control mercury emissions, including from coal.
• IPEN called for prohibiting mercury use in ASGM under the Convention, presenting its original research on Υδράργυρος σε Γυναίκες Αναπαραγωγικής Ηλικίας σε 25 Χώρες and Έκθεση υδραργύρου σε γυναίκες σε τέσσερις χώρες εξόρυξης χρυσού της Λατινικής Αμερικής.
• IPEN criticized adoption of a standard for defining mercury waste that is not health protective and that would allow countries to set even less safe standards, or no standard at all. IPEN previously argued that the most health-protective standard should be adopted. IPEN noted that allowing a blanket exemption to the standard could result in undeclared shipments of toxic mercury-tainted waste being dumped by wealthy regions into low- and middle-income countries.