29 October 2023, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition appealed to all parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury to come up with united decisions that will lead to the elimination of all mercury-added cosmetics from the face of the earth, including e-commerce.
Global mercury pollution has been recognised as a major problem that can only be tackled effectively by international regulation and government cooperation. Mercury is a hazardous neurotoxin that can cause many health problems in humans, and most exposure is caused by dietary impacts such as eating contaminated fish where mercury bioaccumulates.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury has been developed as the main international legal instrument to protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution with range of controls on trade, emissions, and use of mercury. The fifth Conference of the Parties (COP-5) of the Minamata Convention on Mercury (Mercury Treaty) will take place in Geneva from 30 October to 3 November 2023, and several important decisions will be discussed.
The fifth Conference of the Parties (COP-5) of the Minamata Convention on Mercury (Mercury Treaty) will take place in Geneva from 30 October to 3 November 2023, and several important decisions will be discussed. These decisions may include:
Empowering women in the fight to eliminate toxic chemicals
Thursday, 14 September 2023
By Yuyun Ismawati
In 2019, during the week of the 78th independence of Indonesia, in mid-August the media covered various stories about the worst air pollution in the capital, Jakarta. The authorities tried to answer the questions with empty promises and mismatched solutions.
UN Special Rapporteur urges closing a loophole in Minamata Convention on Mercury to stop human rights abuses linked to mercury in gold mining
Tuesday, 13 September 2022
Geneva, Switzerland - As many as 15 million men, women and children around the world suffer significant and potentially life-threatening human rights abuses from mercury used in small-scale gold mining, according to a groundbreaking report presented today by Marcos A. Orellana, the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights.
Despite years of toxicity warnings, skin whitening creams remain on store shelves around the world. These cosmetics often contain mercury, a dangerous neurotoxic metal that can damage the kidneys and heart and cause permanent brain damage. Marketing of skin whitening creams has been called a legacy of colonialism, following racism and social discrimination based on skin color, and is perpetuated by racist media and popular culture, which shows light colored skin as the beauty ideal.
Quezon City, Philippines In spite of a public health warning issued by the Philippine government almost five years ago, local dealers of mercury-containing "beauty creams" from South Asia continue to ply their poison cosmetics.
A brief summary of the happenings and outcomes of the Mercury Treaty COP 4.2 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in Spring 2022, as well as notes about side meetings and future events.
The fourth Conference of the Parties of the Minamata Convention on Mercury was scheduled 21 – 25 March 2022 but actually finished at around 5am on the morning of 26 March with the final decision on Budget and Programme of Work.
Significant advances were made in decisions on dental amalgam and addition of several product groups to Annex A.
