The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC5) to prepare a treaty on mercury took place 13 - 18 January, 2013 in Switzerland and numerous representatives from IPEN Participating Organizations took part. This was the last negotiating committee meeting for the treaty, and it reached agreement on the text of the new treaty.
19 January 2013
Mercury Treaty Not Likely to Reduce Global Releases: Proposed name dishonours victims of the Minamata tragedy
(Geneva) – IPEN and other non-governmental organizations said that a new global mercury treaty is unlikely to reduce mercury releases, and may even result in increased mercury pollution at the close of treaty negotiations today. They also said that the proposed treaty name, “Minamata Convention”, dishonours those who continue to suffer from one of the worst cases of industrial mercury poisoning in the world. IPEN is a coalition of non-governmental organizations representing 700 public-interest organizations in 116 countries.
New evidence reveals mercury contamination regularly exceeds health advisory levels in humans and fish worldwide.
This report, an IPEN and BRI collaborative effort, is the first of its kind to identify global biological mercury hotspots. These hotspots are of particular concern to human populations and the ecosystems on which they depend.
The report was originally published in January 2013 (and the Spanish translation below reflects that original version), but was updated in September in preparation for the Mercury Treaty Diplomatic Conference held in Japan in October, 2013.
IPEN and Minamata survivor groups also asked delegates to name the treaty the “Mercury Convention”, instead of the proposed name, “Minamata Convention” – a reference to the site of the first well-‐ documented incident of large-‐scale mercury poisoning in a human population that occurred more than 50 years ago.
Geneva — The health of current and future generations depends on an international mercury treaty that will ensure substantial reductions in global mercury emissions, said IPEN, a coalition of non-governmental organizations representing 700 public-interest organizations in 116 countries.
Press release announcing joint mercury monitoring report from IPEN, a global network of public interest organizations, and the scientific research team of BRI.
Gorham, Maine — A new scientific report, Global Mercury Hotspots, finds that humans and marine ecosystems around the world are contaminated with mercury and that mercury levels in humans and fish regularly exceed health advisory guidelines.
