Statement on Minamata and the Mercury Treaty from Ryukou Sakamoto, Director, Minamata Disease Citizen’s Group, and Hideki Sato, Director, Minamata Disease Victims’ Mutual Aid Society.
A survey of mercury content in the hair of delegates at the first UN negotiating meeting for a global treaty on mercury.
At the 1st International Negotiating Committee (INC1) for a Global Treaty on Mercury, negotiators from 40 countries were tested by IPEN and SSNC, and mercury levels between 93 ug/kg and 2956 ug/kg were found in their hair samples. More than one-third of the samples exceeded the US National Research Council mercury reference dose of 1000 ug/kg.
In 2009, governments of the world agreed to start negotiations on a global mercury treaty with the goal of finishing by 2013. After consultations and input from NGOs in all regions of the world, IPEN adopted its “Views on a Global Mercury Treaty” policy statement, which explains why a global treaty on mercury is needed and puts forward a civil society vision for the treaty.
