Mercury exposure can affect fetal neurological development and has been linked to lowered fertility, brain and nerve damage, and heart disease in adults who have high levels of mercury in their blood. Although a naturally occurring element, many sources of emissions and releases into air and water come from anthropogenic sources, such as industrial processes, mining, waste incineration, combustion of fossil fuels, and mercury-containing products such as lamps, batteries, switches, instruments, dental amalgam and certain skin creams.

When the Minamata Convention was adopted in 2015, governments committed themselves to eradicating its use globally. Yet, a decade later, mercury remains a problem. When delegates convened for the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-6), they discussed further actions that will help make the promise of this treaty a reality. COP-6 addressed some of the challenges that Parties face in implementing the Convention, such as trade control, waste management, and mercury use in cosmetics, dental fillings, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), and industrial processes. Parties also addressed enhanced cooperation with other global agreements and international partners on pivotal topics like biodiversity, and the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities.

Items on the agenda included:

• combating illegal trade in mercury;
• banning dental amalgam, mercury-containing skin-lightening cosmetics, and mercury catalysts used in vinyl chloride monomer (VCM);
• requests from Bangladesh and Thailand for extensions of temporary exemptions to products banned under Annex A to the Convention;
• an update to guidance for the preparation of a national action plan to reduce and, where feasible, eliminate mercury use in ASGM;
• draft provisional guidance on the effective engagement of Indigenous Peoples and of local communities in the development, implementation and review of ASGM national action plans;
• reviewing the mercury waste thresholds agreed by COP-5;
• enhancing co-benefits from implementation of the Minamata Convention and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;
• terms of reference for the third review of the Convention’s financial mechanism; and
• enhanced cooperation with the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.

COP-6 was held 3-7 November 2025, at the Geneva International Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, preceded by regional consultations on 2 November.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) writers for this meeting were Keith Ripley; Noémie Laurens, Ph.D.; Daniela Morich; and James Van Alstine, Ph.D. The Digital Editor was Natalia Mroz. The Editor was Pam Chasek, Ph.D.