ID :
303166
Tue, 10/15/2013 - 11:26
Auther :

Mongolia joins Minamata Convention

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Mongolia joined the Minamata Convention on Mercury at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the convention which ran October 10-11 in Minamata and Kumamoto, Japan. Apart of Mongolia, the conference brought together 1,000 delegates from 139 countries, international organizations, NGOs and professional unions. During the conference, 139 countries adopted the convention and 93 countries signed it. Mongolia was represented by S.Khurelbaatar, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to Japan, and by L.Jargalsaikhan, the secretary of the National Council of Policy and Regulation on Chemical and Poisonous Substances. Mr Khurelbaatar signed the convention’s draft, thus making Mongolia one of the 92 states to join the Minamata Convention. The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. It was agreed at the fifth and final session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Geneva, Switzerland at 7 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, 19 January 2013. The major highlights of the Minamata Convention on Mercury include a ban on new mercury mines, the phase-out of existing ones, control measures on air emissions, and the international regulation of the informal sector for artisanal and small-scale gold mining. The Convention draws attention to a global and ubiquitous metal that, while naturally occurring, has broad uses in everyday objects and is released to the atmosphere, soil and water from a variety of sources. Controlling the anthropogenic releases throughout its life cycle has been a key factor in shaping the obligations under the convention.

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