UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : UNEP Press conference: Minamata Convention on Mercury - COP6

Good morning, everyone.

Thank you very much for being here.

From the 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which will take place here in Geneva from the 3rd to the 7th of November at CICJ, with 100 and 53 parties committed to ending mercury pollution.

The Minamata Convention is a global treaty that helps countries to control, reduce and eliminate mercuries across all its life stages, with the objective to protect human health and the environment.

All information related to the meeting is posted on our website in English, French and Spanish with all COP documents in the six UN languages.

So far, over 1000 participants, including delegates, civil society, indigenous peoples, youth are registered to attend.

I am joined today by Monica Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention, and Brenda Kukuk, Senior Coordination Officer, who will share some insights on what to expect at COP 6.

Monica, over to you.

Good day, everyone.

Thank you so much, Anna for short introduction about our convention and upcoming Conference of the Parties meeting, COP 6 as we call it.

Just to maybe provide a little bit further background, the the meetings of the Conference of the Parties under the Minamata Convention are held every two years and there are currently 153 parties to the Convention.

And this number is growing steadily, indicating still a widespread mercury pollution and challenges and its use as well as countries interest to join the Convention to benefit from its financial mechanism, access to knowledge and solution and possibilities for collaboration.

The Convention is one of the youngest one global environmental agreements and it takes a modern approach to addressing pollution by covering the entire life cycle of mercury from mercury mining to mercury waste and its disposal.

The provisions aims to limit the supply of mercury, reduce demand for mercury, address and control emissions and releases, and one important feature of the convention is that the country's concrete obligations and related deadlines for most of the requirements are in the text of the convention itself.

You might be aware the mercury's one of the top chemicals of global health concern.

It cannot be destroyed as as it is a natural element and the mercury levels in the environment has been from coming from human activities have increased dramatically and people are mostly exposed through food and diet.

And to just provide some latest scientific background on this, we know the, for example, fatty fish such as tuna is, is contaminated with mercury.

And the latest scientific results showed that the mercury concentrations in tuna has been quite steady since 1970s and they're actually not decreasing.

So the risk is still real for the entire population in the world and for as far as the upcoming COP is concerned.

Let me start by outlining few priorities.

One priority is for the COP to address issues related to mercury supply and trade.

The copies expected to update guidance on how countries should identify sources and stocks of mercury nationally and also update the guidance on how to use forms for giving prior informed consent to import of mercury.

And both these aspects are important to ensure that the trade is aligned with the requirements of the Convention, in particular that the trade of mercury is from allowed sources for allowed uses.

The COP will also consider growing concern globally over informal and illegal mining for mercury, as well as informal and illegal trade of mercury that includes illicit trafficking, smuggling and especially for the use in artisanal and small scale gold mining.

And the proposal on the agenda for this COP is steps to enhance collaboration with organisations such as United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Custom Organisation and Interpol and other organisation enforcement networks.

And in this consideration also the work of the Convention Compliance and Implementation Compliance Committee will be taken into account.

And the second big item on the agenda of the COP is are mercury added products and processes which use industrial processes that use mercury.

The Convention in its annexes least all known mercury added products as well as all major industrial manufacturing processes in which mercury is intentionally used.

To give you an example, one of such a product is mercury thermometers that were to phase out by 20/20/20.

Another is fluorescent lamps that also contain mercury and those are to be phased out by end of this year.

But there are three still remaining issues regarding this specific agenda.

1 is for COP to consider whether to move from phase down to phase out of dental amalgam.

The Convention already restricts or or prohibits its use of dental amalgam in women of child bearing age or pregnant women and children.

There are there are major concerns related to steel related to use of dental amalgam such as exposure of dentist practitioners to mercury vapours, the the disposal of mercury amalgam and the cost of it but also emissions from crematoria.

So the the cup will will consider any further steps to towards phase out and complete phase out globally of dental amalgam.

The second is issues related to vinyl chloride monomer so-called VCM production.

This is a precursor of plastic PVC and currently our estimates indicate that around 60 or up to 60% of the global output of VCM is produced with mercury use.

And again, also for this manufacturing process, the cup will consider whether to move to global phase out and establish deadline by which the use of mercury in this process will not be allowed.

And the third item on this agenda item is mercury use in skin lightening products.

The convention already bans the use of mercury in cosmetics.

However, we know that the sales of skin lightening products with mercury and other hazardous substances have exploded globally, especially on online markets.

And just for your information, mercury's added to cosmetics to inhibit the melanin production and to lighten whiten the skin tone.

However, this process is not really permanent and is quite harmful to consumers and their health.

And one solution that the COP will consider is to whether the convention should start regulating the trait of mercury compounds which are used in such cosmetics.

So far, the convention has only covered mercury trade.

So that would be a next, next step to take a better control of the mercury mercury compounds available on the global market.

Let me stop with this few points and hand over to my colleague Brenda to continue with other items for for the cup.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Monica.

So I will just touch on a few more of the key issues coming up at the COP.

So the the COP will be considering tackling mercury and artisanal and small scale gold mining and also it's referred to as ASGM.

So artisanal and small scale gold mining continues to be the sector with the largest use, emissions and releases of mercury globally.

It has significant impacts on human health, on land, ecosystems and biodiversity.

And gold prices have been very high in recent months, have been spiking.

And ASGM is a significant sector producing 20% of the world's gold.

So COP 6 will review how countries are progressing in reducing and eliminating mercury use in this sector.

And the conference will also consider new guidance on how to better involve those often affected.

So this includes indigenous peoples, local communities, women and other key stakeholders.

The convention, the COP will also be considering financial support for developing countries and this will include a review of updates to both components of the conventions financial mechanism.

So this includes an update on the specific international programme to support capacity building and technical assistance.

In particular, it will be given an overview of the 10 new projects that were launched this year in the fourth round of of funding for the the the SIP programme.

Parties will consider support provided by the Global Environment Facility to enhance support for developing countries implementing the Convention and consider providing additional guidance to the Global Environment Facility, particularly for the upcoming Jeff 9 replenishment cycle.

We expect to have a decision on a terms of reference for the third review of the financial mechanism to be developed for our next COP at COP 7.

We expect COP 6 also to be advancing global environmental governance.

So this would include efforts to play a role in addressing the triple planetary crisis beyond just mercury pollution to climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

By working together with other entities, we are all stronger.

So we expect that decisions at COP 6 will promote collaboration with the new Intergovernmental Science Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution, the Global Framework on Chemicals, as well as with other UN agencies through the Inter Organisation Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals or the referred to as the IOMC.

So we will also explore how mercury reduction efforts can align with the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

And we expect to see a call for continued and enhanced synergy with the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions and the Global Mercury Partnership.

We also expect a spotlight on inclusive participation in within the convention.

And we will be reviewing needs of and progress on engaging indigenous peoples and and local communities in the convention process.

And an important milestone moment will be at this COP, the launch of the Minimatic Conventions Women's Caucus.

So in terms of logistics for the COP, this COP will be presided over by Osvaldo Alvarez Perez from Chile.

And as Anna mentioned, it will run from the 3rd of November to the 7th of November.

And there'll be a number of special events associated with this COP and I'll pass over to Anna to run through them.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you, Brenda and Monica for the overview.

And before I talk about the special events and open the floor for questions, let me cover just a bit on US comms and knowledge management on on the digital transformation at COP.

So this agenda item will parties under this agenda item will review the Secretary at work on digital transformation, including a new knowledge platform that will enhance transparency, access to information and monitoring of implementation.

All these tools are designed to help parties make data-driven decisions and track progress more effectively, with also strengthening collaboration with other multilateral agreements and and key partners.

As briefly Brenda said about the special events, this morning I shared with you media advisory, which includes details on the main agenda items to be discussed at COP 6, as well as information on these special events, key speakers and all night resources.

I just wanted to draw your attention to one of these events happening ahead of COP 6 on Sunday this Sunday 2nd of November at 5:30 PM, also at CAC Gym.

The session, titled From Science to Action Protecting the Amazon from Mercury Pollution, is open to the general public and will feature Fernando Trujillo as a conservation scientist and National Geographic Rolex Explorer of the Year, and Eileen Yoko Smith, Executive Director of Green Action Japan and co-author of Mina Mata.

With the photographer Eugene Smith.

They will connect the legacy of Minamata disease due to mercury pollution to current challenges in the Amazon, followed by the screening of the documentary Amazon the New Minamata.

With that, I'll open the floor for questions.

We can start with those in the room and then move if there are journalists connected online.

[Other language spoken]

By by the way, please state your name and organisation.

[Other language spoken]

OK, so my name is Anya's Petrejo and I'm journalist with Agence France Press.

I have some question about the, I think it was a third issue you mentioned on the cosmetics compounds.

Could you give us more information about which companies are involved in those production or trading of cosmetic compounds and in which countries they are in which States and are those states part of the of the convention and how much these trades represent in terms of of dollars and and then on the logistics, how it will work.

Will you be preparing or will any country be preparing some draft resolution how the the the parties will discuss?

Would it be public?

Will there be any voting to take decisions?

If you could explain us that and about the, the, the timing, would it be all the votes at the end of the of the meeting or Yes.

[Other language spoken]

And for your question interest in the skin lightening product issue, the I mentioned the convention bands the manufacture, import and trade of any cosmetics including skin lightening products that contain mercury.

So their production and trade is illegal.

So I, I, I cannot offer you any number of of the size of this.

Most of the data revealed concerned products that are available on online markets because there are many organisations who do the sampling and then react and try to put those products down from the markets.

I could refer you maybe to the reports made by the 0 Mercury working group that has been for years investigating this issue to get an idea of of how this problem persists.

I can only tell that these products are really available globally including developed countries.

So it's not an issue only of developing countries, but they are available in United States, in the EU.

There has been a recent investigation by Attorney General of New York into the issue of mercury in skin lighting products because there is a part of the there, there is also sales of those there.

And what to add?

We, we, we know that there are that where this cosmetics comes from by just looking at the labelling and then the, the, the country of a region.

So there are several countries in Asia for example that are that are source of those cosmetics and then they are distributed to other countries especially in that region.

Then regarding the question of resolutions, we do expect a number of so-called conference room papers to be put forward by parties.

There already many proposal for decisions that has been developed by the Secretariat.

They are contained in the working documents made available on the website.

However, we are also aware that there will be a number of proposals also coming from the parties.

They will be made available during the conference itself, not in advance.

And for example, we know that there is a one proposal being prepared by Gabon on the issue of skin lightening products and how party skin collaborate to address this common challenge.

We expect that those resolutions or conference room papers and decision will be discussed on every day.

So as per the agenda item, the agenda for the COP we have presented.

So we start we try to start with the the biggest items where we proceed that their major discussion is in in needed early in the process of the COP.

Anything else from my colleagues if I missed to answer and I and also as to availability of this information.

There is a a lot of documents already made public.

We also have some internal website for participants of the COP to follow up on the progress of the discussions negotiation and as far as registration for the COP is concerned for the press.

[Other language spoken]

Just also like one thing I mean to finalise your, your questions, I mean your first set of questions is that all these decisions will take place during the week.

So we expect that all agenda items are covered by Friday with all decisions adopted.

And that will mean that the the 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties is adjourned and and then we will move into the intersessional.

For the next COP COP 7, OK, if IA follow up, so if it's already banned, if those products with Mercury cosmetics products with Mercury are already banned, what would be the proposal?

[Other language spoken]

So maybe there are several issues to consider.

First is the demand for those products which is off, which is basically perpetuated by advertisement.

It's it's unethical advertisement sometimes where we there is a promotion of the beauty standards that with lighter skin tone, women can get a better marriage or better professional prospects in the future.

So there's a lot of going on in terms of advertisement and then increasing demand for the lighter skin tone.

[Other language spoken]

Area where collaboration is needed including different part of society and also influencer is to confront those harmful beauty standards and and promote any skin tone.

And also raise awareness that some of these cosmetics if they are mislabeled or if they are bought in some local shops might be of really bad quality and harmful for basically for everyone's health using them.

Another matter to look at is the illegal manufacture of those products and where they come from.

And then and make sure that every party to the convention puts the proper regulations in place specifically that this global ban is reflected in national regulation.

And there is also way to enforce it.

And that leads me to the Third Point, which is the collaboration of enforcement networks custom officials, so they can be aware what to look for and how those products could be tested to have a quick result, whether they contain mercury or not.

And since this is a global dimension and we are often also talking about online markets that are international or online platforms, parties express the wish to collaborate and perhaps create work programme or these different the government, but also observers society can continue collaborating on that matter and to revert the trend of this increasing demand for for those products.

[Other language spoken]

My name is Paula di Polybias, I'm with Geneva Solutions.

I wanted to ask a little bit about the the use in in gold as GM.

There have been calls to amend the convention, including to phase out the dates of the mercury use in in ASGM and and as well as making mercury generally a crime, the use of mercury crime.

What's what, where the where did the talk talk stands in, in terms of of this?

Like what do you expect a proposal to be made have proposals towards, you know, that's that objective been made in the past and, and how can you ensure the implementation of of these?

And I'd like to know also like what are the biggest challenges basically to, to getting, you know, some such a a, an amendment to be introduced.

And additionally, I wanted to know whether you may have numbers of how many people are affected by the, the various uses of mercury, whether it's in ASGM or for the, the cosmetic uses.

[Other language spoken]

And maybe we shared the answers and I hope we, I remember, we will remember all your questions starting with the convention approach to addressing mercury use in artisanal small scale gold mining.

At the time of creating the convention 10 years ago or a bit more actually this use was not so well known.

So this was a big advantage to have the latest scientific result at that time to indicate that this is actually the main use of mercury and the main source of mercury globally.

And at that time, and I believe this is still valid, at least until now, the approach has been not to go for a stride jacket ban because that would mean that all people who are engaging with HGM, with mercury use will be criminalised.

And and there will be limitation in terms of reaching out to these people, raising awareness, offering other ways of livelihoods.

And it would be even more prone to be more vulnerable to criminal groups that may exploit people and turn to this business.

And the approach of the convention is to which is mandatory for parties with SGM, which is significant, is to develop an action plan.

And one main feature of this is to aim to formalise the sector.

If the sector is formalised, there is a access to financing resources, there is a formal market for selling the gold and also investment made into technology and remediation of of the mining area.

So this is preferable approach and the convention also includes a certain requirements.

What this plan should include and which are the worst practises to be avoided?

And it included Annex 66C.

Sorry, will not dwell on it.

The the the the AGM activities can have very different contexts.

Sometimes it's really about people's livelihoods and that they don't have any other similar options for gaining income.

We have countries that have been having AGM for decades and countries where only within the last few years this has become an emerging activity due to the prices of gold rising up.

And we have areas where this is illegal activity, like in Amazon where the miners will enter the territories of indigenous peoples and that would be criminal activity involving children, labour, sex abuse, and it could be also connected to wildlife and drug smuggling.

So it's a very different context centre for different ways to address it.

So far any of the none of the parties have proposed that there would be a deadline by which the mercury use in HGM would need to be phased out.

The procedure under the convention is such that the proposal for for an amendment always has to come from a party and it has to be submitted minimum or it has to be circulated to all participants of the COP six months in advance.

And we know that for this upcoming COP, no such a proposal has been made.

Regarding the numbers, maybe my colleague managed to a little bit look up for those and and maybe answer any other elements.

I've missed the answer.

[Other language spoken]

So just to compliment Monica in terms of some numbers, we have 51 parties that have notified the Secretariat that mercury use in artisanal and small scale gold mining is more than insignificant and that's how they trigger the obligation within the convention.

There is an estimate of 15 to 20 million small scale gold miners globally and with a broader employment community of about 50 million people.

[Other language spoken]

I have actually another question.

So also I wanted to know, you know, on on the on the party side when it comes to countries that are actually refining the gold, do you have us among those countries?

Are there any that are expected to propose, you know anything with regard to tightening what you have already in the the Minamata Convention regarding the use of of mercury in ASGM?

As I mentioned, we have not received any formal proposal for this upcoming COP.

We are still at the time where parties are either have just finalised their action plans or about to develop 1.

So the next step for the convention will be the review the progress in implementing requirements regarding mercury use in HGM.

And also there is ongoing process under the convention to see the effectiveness of the convention as a whole and the requirements related to HGM will be part of that.

And these results will be available at 2027 at COP 7 and they may enlighten, provide an opportunity to take this talk and see whether these action plans are working and are they leading to mercury reductions.

Already at this stage, we know that one major challenge is what they mentioned illegal trade of mercury.

So mercury legally flow into use in HGM.

And in some regions, there are countries where banning the use of mercury in HGM, like in South America, many majority of countries actually banned the use of mercury in GM.

Nevertheless, it's booming because we know illegal trade of mercury is, is an Ave to to supply mercury continuously supply mercury to the sector.

So with that understanding, there's, as I mentioned, a high priority for the COP to address illegal mercury trade, really for any of those bands to be effective because at the end of the day, we see through these national bands that it is a choice of a country to do it.

But the, the, the, the challenge still persist whether you ban or not the mercury flows.

So that's an important matter that this cup will focus on, but not yet any formal proposals on looking into receiving side those who are buying gold, let's say.

But I should mention also that through financial mechanism of the Minamatic Convention, major investment is being made into helping countries to tackle this challenge through the Jeff.

There is a so-called Planet Gold programme that covers now many parties and they look into practical solutions on a ground level, such as how to increase access to formal markets and to financing, which is an important part of of the of formalising the sector.

And they're also looking into collaborating with actors across the value chains.

And we would definitely be looking to results of this programme and bringing it forward to the level of the convention to have a again stock taking and check to what degree this is effective and how those solutions could be scaled up.

[Other language spoken]

Any other question, Maia?

Thank you very much.

So Maia, shall we for QDA News agency, Japan's leading news agency just have a couple of questions.

So you mentioned that delegation, civil society use, indigenous people would participate.

Could you tell us is also the private sector is invited and if you have a name of a few companies that might join like 2 side events or even negotiations then concerning the decisions on the dental amalgam I, I have the feeling that it's where we could expect like a clear decision to be taken.

So if yes, could you tell me the draft has been proposed by which delegation, which country?

[Other language spoken]

And then just to remind us, because I have been at the, the last cup, but I, I forgot now how these decisions are taken.

Is it by consensus, by majority?

And if yes, what is your majority at the moment as as other parties may have joined in between?

And finally, you mentioned also tuna fish and the impact of mercury on tuna fish.

As you know, Japan, Japanese people really loves tuna fish.

I wanted to know, have you seen any type of improvements since the convention is in place or what which item would be the one addressing the the problem of mercury in the ocean?

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for the questions.

In terms of industry, let us revert to this question in a moment.

Maybe I will start with dental amalgam.

There has been a proposal to amend the convention regarding strengthening the requirements on the use of dental amalgam since already COP 4.

This was a proposal that was submitted by African countries, so a joint proposal by countries that are parties to minamat the convention in Africa.

And since then, throughout 2 corps, there has been different iterations and and additions made to the convention with the aim of strengthening the requirements.

But there was no yet an agreement on a global ban for all the uses.

And this is basically what's the what's on the table of this COP.

So at the previous COP, Cop 5, there was an agreement made that this remaining part related to possible global ban will be would be put forward for consideration of the current COP.

And the proposal is to in brackets, the proposal is to phase out dental amalgam by 2030.

So both the idea of the ban but also possible timeline will be negotiated at this COP.

So I would say that's the matter that has been part of of the convention evolution for some time.

And since this is now being discussed again, I think it shows that there is a increasing also desire for finalising this matter.

And we know that also simultaneously do negotiation at the the global level, more and more parties are in the on the national level phasing out the use of dental amalgam and the fact that there is also decreasing demand for it among people.

Simply as there are other alternatives that are available in some countries and may be a matter of cost and how insurance companies whether they cover or not dental amalgam, it has a big impact on on on the use of it, but difficult for me to predict the outcome of the negotiation.

And let's see what will happen during next week.

Maybe I will also address your question about how decisions are made at the Minamata Convention.

The practise is to there has been Minamata Convention voting is rare and also our rules of procedures are such that the voting is possible on the procedural matters.

However, no voting procedure has been finalising our rules for procedure for substantive matters.

So that means that the COP will always aim to reach compromise and voting on substantive matters basically will not take place.

I'm not sure whether my colleague is ready to answer at least some of your questions and we would always be OK.

[Other language spoken]

So in terms of private sector participation at the, at the COP, the in the conference of the parties process, the industry is represented through industry associations and not direct companies.

So we do have some industry associations registered for the meeting as per, as per practised.

I don't have a list of them in front of me at the moment, but we could get back to you on that.

[Other language spoken]

And the tuna question.

Yes, so I, I just recently I mentioned my opening came across an interesting article and and we know that fat fish like tuna really accumulates mercury that bio accumulates in the tuna flesh.

And therefore there are in many countries some advisories on especially for pregnant women not to eat that kind of fish because it can pose challenges to foetuses and unborn children.

And this in this article it states that the concentrations has been stable meaning contamination remain on the same level since 5 decades now and it's not decreasing.

Therefore I don't think convention within it's short lifespan can claim any benefits that are reflected in the the declining concentration in fish.

There is also some recent scientific evidence showing that while some gains has been achieved in terms of reducing releases an emissions through certain industries and use of mercury in products, the emissions from HGM are on the rise and they are counterbalancing the gains that the convention has achieved over the recent years.

So the the use of mercury in HGM is really a grow, a growing challenge that I think it's recognised by the convention and I hope that the upcoming COP also will provide some additional avenues on how it can be addressed effectively.

[Other language spoken]

On the organisation.

So I understand that it will be at the ICIG and that we are based here and we can come to cover if we are accredited.

But how we can we, we can know in advance that discussion, for example, on the, I don't know, on the dental amalgam will take place.

So we, we know that we have to come because we, there are so many briefings going on here and that we cannot be there all the time.

So how, how we can know that to be informed in advance about the discussions taking place and if a decision will be taken?

Yes, if you could help us on that.

[Other language spoken]

So on on the Minamata Convention website, they can give you I, I have your e-mail so I can send you the direct link to the daily schedule.

So we will post there.

It's already like tentative, it's planned, but you, you, you, you can imagine that this is a live discussion.

So we have the agenda for every day, but depending on the discussions every morning the the Bureau meets at 8:00 and then the, the daily agenda is adjusted and, and approved and, and we post it on, on the website.

So the discussions, the main discussions will take place at plenary.

I can also, I can already give you also like the EMF document for where the tentative schedule is.

There is also, I mean we post it also on the on the live schedule on the website, but it will be adjusted depending on, on on the live discussions.

However, in terms of of the decisions, it depends also on the topic.

So some agenda items are easier and they will be immediately adopted pending confirmation of the budget and others.

Normally most of the decisions are adopted towards the end of of the week even though the discussion has started.

I mean, during the week, it's all the discussions are public whether the plenary sessions are.

However, for the at the moment, we are expecting that the COP will propose 3 main contact groups and the contact groups are close to delegates, right?

OK, Yes, I'm absolutely right.

And then the issue of dental amalgam and skin lightening products will be open on Monday afternoon.

So the we we are streaming plenary and.

It would be useful then to and, and at that time also the president will announce the schedule of the negotiation on those items, whether at plenary or in the smaller group and when those need to report back to plenary.

And we hope that all the decisions, all major decisions are finalised by Thursday.

That's that's the hope for in order for the COP to end on time.

Thank you and thanks, Monica.

I had this on my closing notes.

But all, all plenary sessions, I mean, you are welcome to attend the COP and and media registration is open to to all like international media created at the United Nations.

But also if you want to follow the main discussions online, all plenary sessions are going to be live stream in the six UN languages through a web player, I mean a media player that's already embedded on on the COP website.

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, actually on, on that, if it's possible that you could share the information with with all of us.

And, and then I wanted to know in terms of the, I think there was some discussion about advancing the dates on the the, the the 15 year ban for production and trading of mercury is, is that going to appear somewhere on the on the agenda?

Thank you for your question.

I think that may refer to the mercury primary mercury mining.

So according to the convention Article 3, any for for parties who've joined the convention, they they are not allowed to open any new mercury mining.

However they may operate their so-called established mercury mining.

So the the the mines that were operated at the time of ratifying the convention, we know that there are three parties who have primary mercury mining, Mexico, Indonesia and China.

They report to Minamata Convention Secretariat on the amount of mercury mined and whether there are any valid permits for those mines.

And according to the convention and for those three parties, the mines can only be in operation by 2032.

There is no formal proposal for this COP to revisit this deadline for phasing out mining for existing mines.

And however, I've heard from some NGOs and observer an ocean or a or a call for looking into closing or providing shorter time time span for operation of those mines.

So, but just to confirm again, this is not officially on the agenda of this COP.

Any other questions?

I don't know if we can check because I don't have access here if there are questions online.

[Other language spoken]

Yes, thank you very much.

This is Christiana with the German Press Agency.

I would like to follow up on two previous questions that I think might not have been answered.

You mentioned, Monica, you mentioned countries in Asia where whitening skin products are produced.

Can you name those countries and can you tell us whether those countries are part of the convention?

Another question was how many people are affected by mercury poisoning worldwide, and I wonder whether you can mention the one practise that would, for example, change the mercury levels in tuna fish.

What would be the one measure that could be taken to change the problem with mercury in tuna?

[Other language spoken]

Thank you so much for your question.

I will start with the last one about tuna.

I like eating tuna actually myself and I've learned about the danger when I was pregnant in the Baltic Sea and their advisory not to eat wild salmon because it also accumulates and and the issue of mercury and why it is also addressed global is because it will not, it cannot be destroyed is a natural element.

So one, it accumulates in the environment, it will circle between air, water and sediments over time in especially in the marine environment where mercury takes its most harmful form.

And mercury may also be buried in the sediments.

And that would be kind of a storage storage, natural storage for mercury.

And as long as the sediments are not disturbed, you could say it's a kind of a solution for it.

But it it requires really many decades for for mercury levels to decline in the environment, assuming that no new sources are or or the sources has been addressed and currently the sources has not been addressed.

So not only we have a mercury that's already in an environment, there is a new anthropogenic mercury being added to to the environment.

So it's a work, the result of it will only be seen over a very long time, but the priority is really to address the current sources so we don't add additional mercury.

I've also read the recent article that it's not only transport via air, that it's a major pathway for mercury, but also there is evidence in some areas the major pathways actually through ocean currents.

[Other language spoken]

We also know that around 20 million people worldwide may be at risk of mercury exposure.

That's just one number.

And there are a lot of scientific articles also showing the health impact of mercury.

I will not quote those here.

And to your third question about the production of mercury containing cosmetics, there is AI just to the the one country I know because I bought those cosmetics myself.

I was visiting Philippines and we went to a local market to look for them and there was a many local cosmetic shops that basically offer the same cosmetics that were labelled as they were as if they were coming from Thailand.

I'm not a investigator so I cannot assure whether they were really produced there.

Sometimes it's a matter of producing a label that will be attractive from customer and where the cosmetics comes from as it if it would be of higher quality.

But there are many of those offered and I know that Philippines have taken really good steps to curb the sales of those cosmetics by producing on a regular basis blacklist including with the names and the photographs of those cosmetics and distributing this to local shops and make it in viable online.

And despite of these efforts, because of there is this demand and the idea that this cosmetics will improve my beauty, there was still they were still on sale.

So this is just one example and we know that there will be through the financial mechanism of the Minamata Convention, there is a planning for a project for parties to collaborate on this issue.

There has been one big project already established in Africa and we are looking forward to have a similar projects in also Caribbean and and the Asian Pacific so countries can exchange intelligence and collaborate on this matter.

I hope I answered your questions.

[Other language spoken]

Yes, sorry.

One more, is Thailand part of the convention?

Other countries that might be producing part of the convention?

[Other language spoken]

Are there other online questions?

[Other language spoken]

We've, we've been, it's been quite a, a comprehensive press briefing.

Thank you all for for joining us today online and and for those here in in person.

As I mentioned, all plenary sessions are starting on the 3rd of November at 10 AM, including the the opening of of the of COP 6 will be live streaming all six URL languages.

I've shared with you all this information this morning, but for those here, I took note of of your names and, and I will, I will share all, all the information.

Yes, you have a burning question.

Yes, sorry on the dental amalgam and it's still not clear to me what will be the decision taken.

What does it mean to phase out, to go from phase down to phase out or On the contrary, yes, if, if you could clarify that in not so technical words.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you and apologies for you for using this bureaucratic jargon.

To some degree the the phase out meaning that the the the use of amalgam is not allowed and face down it's some measures that goes to that direction, but it's not a ban.

So maybe the easiest way to understand what's is proposed is to look up a document with proposed amendments that has been submitted to this COP.

This is document number six, so it's on our website.

Document COP 6/6 entitled Amendments to Annex A and these documents describe a concrete proposals on how to amend the Convention that the parties will discuss at the upcoming CUP.

[Other language spoken]

If it's very clear, you are most welcome to attend the the COP all sessions or any sessions that might be of your interest.

And if you want to coordinate any interview with our secretariat.

Also in the media advisory I put some names of key speakers attending and with with specific dates they they will be there.

Don't hesitate to reach me.

And also, if you want to confirm any facts, Maeva, sorry, just to confirm, are you expecting to make a press conference at the end?

Yes, there's a press conference booked here in this room on, on Monday, the 10th of November at 10:30 AM with all the outcomes.

And for that press conference, I, we will be joined also with other specialists from the Minamata Convention Secretariat.

So with that, thank you very much and have a wonderful day despite the weather.

[Other language spoken]

UNEP Press conference: Minamata Convention on Mercury - COP6 - 27 October 2025