Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues and friends,
It is a great honour to join you today, as we reflect on the progress, partnerships, and promise of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
First, let us acknowledge what we have achieved together. The Minamata Convention stands as a highly successful, party-driven instrument in international environmental governance. With 153 Parties, including eight new country-Parties since COP-5, it now reflects truly global commitment and reach.
Over the past two decades, our collective work on mercury has changed lives and landscapes. Over 95 Parties to the Minamata Convention have taken multiple measures to phase down dental amalgam, and over 55 countries globally, including both developed and developing countries, have phased it out completely, adopting safer alternatives that protect both patients and practitioners.
Industrial transitions are well underway: chlor-alkali plants and other mercury-based facilities have been moving towards mercury-free technologies, setting good examples and providing important lessons on the way.
More recently through the Libreville Commitment, many governments in Africa are uniting to eliminate mercury-added skin-lightening products, protecting human health and dignity.
Yet challenges remain. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining continues to expand, driven by the unprecedented increase in gold prices. There has been an approximate ten-fold rise in mercury emissions from this sector over the last 50 years, to almost one thousand tons a year in 2021 threatening both the environment and the hard-won gains of the Convention. We must redouble our efforts on responsible gold for the benefit of communities, human health and the environment.
Second, science remains the foundation of our success. The work of the Minamata Convention extends well beyond mercury reduction it strengthens our collective understanding of pollution as a whole. The creation of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution, established in Punta del Este, Uruguay, marks a new era for evidence-based collaboration. I invite the Minamata Convention community to partner with the Panel, ensuring that mercury management continues to inform and benefit from the broader chemicals and waste agenda.
We also look ahead to UNEA-7, which will convene in Nairobi next month. Among issues under consideration will be the need for greater international action on lead, cadmium, arsenic, and organotins pollutants that, like mercury, demand a life-cycle approach. The Minamata Convention offers a model which is rigorous, science-based, and anchored in global solidarity.
Third, I am pleased to see at this COP a roadmap for enhancing co-benefits between the implementation of the Minamata Convention and the KunmingMontreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This is an important step toward creating an enabling environment for concrete, cross-sectoral action through a whole of government and whole of society approaches.
The Secretariat has developed new resources to help Parties integrate mercury targets into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans ensuring coherence between pollution control and ecosystem protection. It is also encouraging that the Global Environment Facility is aligning its major integrated programmes in the Amazon, the Congo Basin, and other critical forest biomes with Minamatas objectives. These efforts are particularly vital for artisanal and small-scale gold mining, where the protection of local biodiversity must go hand in hand with safeguarding human well-being.
Fourth, the Minamata Convention has always recognised that environmental protection is inseparable from social inclusion. From its earliest days, the Convention acknowledged Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women, and youth are disproportionately affected by mercury contamination.
I am encouraged by the strong presence of Indigenous Peoples and civil society and representatives at this COP, and by the growing engagement of youth networks.
And for the first time, we warmly welcome the Womens Caucus of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, bringing together over 90 member organisations. Their participation marks a milestone for gender equality and the empowerment of women in environmental decision-making.
Colleagues,
The Minamata Convention may be one of the younger multilateral environmental agreements, but it has already demonstrated remarkable maturity. It has drawn from the best practices of its sister conventions and proven itself small, but mighty in its Secretariats capacity and efficiency.
As host of the Convention, UNEP remains steadfast in its support helping Parties deliver on the Conventions objective and truly make mercury history.
Since the Convention entered into force, an estimated cumulative amount of over 1900 tons of mercury in trade, products, processes, waste and emissions have been addressed globally, with funding support from the Global Environment Facilitys dedicated mercury allocations.
Looking ahead to 2027, we will celebrate ten years since the Convention entered into force. Let us use that milestone and the occasion of UNEA-8 to showcase to the world how collective action, grounded in science and solidarity, can transform the health of people and planet alike.
Thank you.
