Highlights and images for 24 September 2017

Switzerland

Summary

The first Conference of the Parties (COP1) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, under the theme “Make Mercury History,” began on Sunday, 24 September and is scheduled to conclude on Friday, 29 September 2017, in Geneva, Switzerland. During a brief opening ceremony, delegates heard opening speeches from Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Switzerland, and Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Director, UN Environment.

Delegates then convened in a plenary to address organizational matters, including election of officers, rules of procedure, and the appointment of a credentials committee. Delegates then established a Committee of the Whole (COW) chaired by Fernando Lugris, Uruguay.

After a round of general statements, the COP engaged in discussions on provisionally adopted guidance documents related to supply sources and trade, exemptions for phase-out dates, and emissions.

IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports for COP1. The summary and analysis is now available in HTML and PDF.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Opening Plenary

Musicians welcome delegates to the first day of COP1

Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director, UN Environment

Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland

Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention

Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland, is welcomed onto the podium after being elected COP1 President

Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, is elected Chair for the Committee of the Whole (CoW)

Philip Weech, the Bahamas, speaking on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)

Babajide Alo, Nigeria

Kaupo Heinma, EU

Mick Saito, Japan, speaking on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Region

Charles Brown, World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry

Margaret Kaemba, Zambia, speaking on behalf of the African Group

Vladimir Lenev, Russian Federation

Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions

M.R. Karliansyah, Indonesia

Shinobu Sakamoto, a woman living with fetal Minamata disease, speaks on behalf of the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) and the Zero Mercury Working Group

Around the Venue

Delegates meet informally before the start of the opening plenary

Gregor Filyk, Canada

The mercury drop on display outside the Palais des Nations

A young boy admires the inside of the mercury drop

Participants