European Union

On Friday morning, the Minamata COP1 High-Level Segment convened to hear reports from the eight Ministerial roundtables held on Thursday, and for country statements. In a keynote address, M. Sanjayan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Conservation International (CI), emphasized that the trajectory set today will change the world in ten years, lauding the entry into force of the Minamata Convention. During the session, the UK announced a US$150,000 contribution to the specific international programme (SIP), with Norway announcing a US$200,000 contribution. Several countries outlined national-level efforts to address challenges posed by and associated with mercury use and pollution. In closing the High-Level Segment, Marc Chardonnens, COP1 President and Vice-Minister for Environment, Switzerland, emphasized that mercury management should be integrated into public health and local-level pollution strategies and control measures. The Committee of the Whole (COW) convened in the afternoon to hear a progress report from the contact group on Programme of Work and budget, and to address other outstanding issues. Chair Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, suspended the COW briefly in the late afternoon to allow for consultations among countries on a draft proposal on the way forward regarding secretariat arrangements, submitted by Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Zambia, Chile and Colombia. Based on the understanding that the secretariat would be based in Geneva in the interim period before COP2, the contact group on Programme of Work and budget convened in the late afternoon and into the evening. Returning to discuss the secretariat arrangements in the COW, delegates were unable to agree on amendments to the earlier proposal suggested by the US, with a small group being tasked with working on compromise text based on the original text. Reconvening the COW, delegates approved the draft decision and agreed to, inter alia, request the UN Environment Executive Director to perform the functions initially through a secretariat of the Minamata Convention located in Geneva. They then approved the draft decision on the implementation and compliance committee. Chair Lugris then suspended the COW. * 8:51pm - COP1 closing plenary opens, adopts 10 decisions, and suspends at 9:05pm to await further decisions from the COW. * 11:08pm - Plenary reconvenes to adopt the decision on the Secretariat. Plenary suspends again at 11:11pm. * 1:35am - COW reconvenes to discuss and approve the Programme of Work and budget, a draft decision containing brackets, the financial rules and regional centers. COW closes at 1:44am * 1:58am - COP1 plenary reconvenes, adopts Programme of Work and budget, financial rules containing bracketed text, and financial rules. Discussions on MoU with the GEF ongoing. COP1 President Chardonnens suspends plenary at 2:49am. * 3:08am - COP1 plenary reconvenes and is closed at 3:15am. 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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. High-Level Segment Delegates gather in plenary for the high-level segment Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention M. Sanjayan, Chief Executive Officer, Conservation International Haddijatou Jallow, Executive Chair-Person, Environment Protection, Sierra Leone Anne Désirée Ouloto, Minister of Urban Safety and Sanitation, Côte d'Ivoire Fleming Sengebau, Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism, Palau Jassim Abdulaziz Al-falahy, Vice Minister, Ministry of Environment, Iraq Thérèse Coffey, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, UK Ghulam Mohd Malikyar, Deputy Director-General, National Environmental Protection Agency, Afghanistan Elsa Patricia Galarza Contreras, Minister of the Environment, Peru Karolina Skog, Minister for the Environment, Sweden Kimmo Tiilikainen, Minister of Agriculture and the Environment, Finland Martha Garcíarivas Palmeros, Vice-Minister, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, Mexico Surasak Karnjanarat, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand Mary Goretti Kitutu Kimono, Minister of the National Environment Management Authority, Uganda Masaharu Nakagawa, Minister of Environment, Japan Yaseen Khayyat, Minister of Environment, Jordan Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Afternoon Session - Final Committee of the Whole (COW) View of the dais during the final COW Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, COW Chair María del Mar Solano Trejos, Costa Rica Reginald Hernaus, the Netherlands, Co-Chair of Programme of Work and Budget Contact Group Sam Adu-Kumi, Ghana Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan Walter Schuldt Espinel, Ecuador Franz Perrez, Switzerland Hiroyuki Nishiura, Japan Anne Daniel, Canada Sezaneh Seymour, US Delegates huddle in the final hours of negotiation Representatives of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, and the Latin American, Asian and African Centers for Environmental Health present Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, COW Chair, with a "Public Official of the Year 2017" award to honour his leadership in the creation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury Closing Plenary View of the dais during the closing plenary Karel Blaha, Czech Republic Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland, and COP1 President Sverre Thomas Jahre, Norway Svetlan Bolocan, Moldova Nassereddin Heidari, Iran Members of the Secretariat discuss Delegates from Brazil ask for the floor Chizuru Aoki, Global Environment Facility (GEF) Humphrey Mwale, Zambia Around the Venue Contact Group on Programme of Work and Budget Delegates consult informally before the start of plenary Franz Perrez, Switzerland, and Yingxian Xia, China Aïta Sarr Seck, Senegal Delegates from Cameroon Delegates from Swaziland Delegates from Venezuela Delegates between sessions Delegates from the US Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention, speaks with Heidar Ali Balouji, Iran Delegates refer to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) website to keep track of negotiations The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team covering the negotiations: Nancy Williams, US; Jen Allan, Canada; Tallash Kantai, Kenya; Yixian Sun, China/Switzerland; Jonelle Jones, Trinidad and Tobago, and Kiara Worth, South Africa

The first Conference of the Parties (COP1) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, met on Tuesday, 26 September 2017 in the Committee of the Whole (COW), and discussed thresholds, contaminated sites, financial rules, the Implementation and Compliance Committee, the Programme of Work and budget, and emissions guidance, among others. Contact groups on the financial mechanism and reporting met during the day, with a newly established contact group on technical issues convening in the evening. A Friends of the Chair group also met on the sidelines of the meeting to continue consideration of the secretariat functions. Delegates also engaged in a thematic dialogue on air during the lunch break, and attended a Minamata Convention Initial Assessment (MIA) clinic. In the evening, the Government of Switzerland hosted a reception fondly known as a “Swiss Break.” Delegates recognized Argentina and Croatia for ratifying the Convention, bringing the total ratifications to date to 83. 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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Morning Session - Committee of the Whole (COW) View of the dais during the morning COW Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, COW Chair María Florencia Grimalt, Argentina Alexandr Solovianov, Basel Convention Regional Center (BCRC) Russian Federation Gregor Filyk, Canada, Co-Chair of the Financial Mechanism Contact Group César Murillo Juárez, Mexico Osvaldo Patricio Álvarez Pérez, Chile Kouame Georges Kouadio, Côte d'Ivoire Ali Al Ghamdi, Saudi Arabia Hiroshi Nishida, Mayor of Minamata City, is welcomed to plenary Vinicius Trindade, Brazil Oleg Pecheniuk, Independent Ecological Expertise (IEE) Elena Lymberidi-Settimo, Zero Mercury Working Group Christoffer Back Vestli, Norway Aneta Willems, EU Afternoon Session - COW View of the dais during afternoon COW Juan Miguel Cuna, the Philippines, speaking on behalf of the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership Advisory Group (PAG) Philip Weech, the Bahamas Georg Karlaganis, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Rodica Ella Ivan, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) César De las Casas, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) Gillian Guthrie, Jamaica Jorge Ocaña, UNITAR, speaking on behalf of the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals Contact Groups Throughout the Day Contact Group on Financial Mechanism Contact Group on Reporting Swiss Break Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, COW Chair, and Franz Perrez, Switzerland, welcome delegates to the Swiss Break Traditional Swiss wrestling Around the Venue Members of the interim Secretariat meet informally before the start of plenary Kei Ohno, BRS Secretariat, and Karissa Kovner, US Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention; John Roberts, UK, Co-Chair of the former Best Available Technologies/ Best Environmental Practices (BAT/BEP) Expert Group; John Whitelaw, Consultant with the Interim Secretariat, and Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, COW Chair Delegates refer to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) website to keep track of negotiations Georg Karlaganis, UNITAR, and Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan Delegates between sessions In an interactive display hosted by IDEA Consultants and Nippon Instruments Corporation (NIC) from Japan, delegates are able to test the levels of mercury found in their body through a hair test - a hair sample is collected, weighed and sent into an incinerator where the mercury is released in a gas form. Using a gold amalgamation, the mercury is then extracted, allowing delegates to know their mercury levels within 6 minutes.

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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. 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