ABUJA – Twenty-two countries have taken major steps at the UN General Assembly in New York to address the emissions and releases of one of the most notorious heavy metals – mercury.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in an online statement on Thursday that the commitment of the countries came a year after the adoption of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
The statement said that ministers and senior government officials from around the world had renewed the international community’s commitment to address the challenge posed by mercury.
It said that the countries renewed their commitment to combat the global threat posed to human health and the environment from mercury pollution worldwide.
“The high-level special event – ‘the Minamata Convention on Mercury: Towards its early entry into force and effective implementation” – witnessed three States agreeing to become Parties to the Minamata Convention.
“It witnessed an additional 15 States signing the treaty. In addition, two more states joined the Convention and three additional states signed it since UN treaty event started on Sept. 24.
“The Governments of Djibouti, Gabon, Guyana, Monaco and Uruguay have joined the United States as the first six future Parties to the Convention.
“The United States had joined the Convention last November.
“An additional 18 countries bringing the total number to 120, used this occasion to sign the Convention, namely: Belarus, Cameroon, Croatia, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau and Honduras,’’ it said.
Other countries, the statement said were Latvia, Liberia, Malaysia, Monaco, Montenegro, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Turkey.
According to the statement, the event was jointly convened by the Governments of Japan, Switzerland, the United States and Uruguay, with the assistance of UNEP.
The statement quoted Yoshio Mochizuki, Minister of the Environment of Japan, as saying that: “As the country that has experienced the Minamata disease, we recognise our critical role to lead the global challenge to eliminate mercury pollution.
“We promise to keep supporting the developing countries utilising our advanced mercury reduction technologies.
“It is crucial to keep the political ambition and momentum formed through the Diplomatic Conference to achieve the rapid entry into force and effective implementation of the Convention,” the statement quoted Mochizuki as saying.
The statement further quoted Franz Perrez, Ambassador for Environment of Switzerland, as saying: “The Minamata Convention was built upon five key elements essential for multilateralism to succeed.
“The key elements of understanding facts, political will, competent support, guidance and leadership and solution- oriented commitment.”
Also, the statement quoted Judith Garber, Acting Assistant Secretary, US Department of State, as saying: “I am particularly pleased that the focus is not only the entry into force of the Convention but also its effective implementation.
“We look forward to continuing that spirit of extraordinary cooperation as we take the next step – the most important step – to achieve the objectives of the Convention through implementation of its provisions.
“It is through those actions that we will all collectively be able to reduce the risks and, one day, eliminate the tragedies to human health and the environment from mercury,” Garber said in the statement.
Meanwhile, the statement noted that Achim Steiner, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNEP, congratulated the countries that had signed and ratified the Minamata convention.
“I congratulate the countries signing and ratifying the Minamata Convention as they now join the international community’s commitment to address a pollutant — mercury — whose impact and notoriety is truly global.
“Their diversity speaks to the treaty’s universal nature and relevance as they encompass both large and small nations, rich and poor, tropical and polar. [eap_ad_1] “While there is much to celebrate, it is now imperative that we use this momentum and move towards the Convention’s early entry into force.
“It is critical that we begin the implementation phase as soon as possible in order to protect human health and the environment for the current generation and those yet to come,” the statement quoted Steiner as saying.
According to the statement, Minamata Convention is named after a city in Japan, where serious health damage occurred as a result of mercury pollution in the mid-20th century.
The Minamata Convention aims at protecting human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.