7 October 2013
Prep Meeting for Mercury DipCon Opens in Japan
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The open-ended intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting to the Conference of the Plenipotentiaries of the Minamata Convention on Mercury opened on 7 October 2013, in Kumamoto, Japan.

The preparatory meeting immediately precedes the Diplomatic Conference, convening from 9-11 October, when the agreed text of the Convention will be presented for adoption and opened for signature.

UNEP7 October 2013: The open-ended intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting to the Conference of the Plenipotentiaries of the Minamata Convention on Mercury opened on 7 October 2013, in Kumamoto, Japan. The preparatory meeting immediately precedes the Diplomatic Conference, convening from 9-11 October, during which the agreed text of the Convention will be presented for adoption and opened for signature.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury was developed after the Governing Council of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in February 2009 decided to develop a global, legally-binding instrument on mercury pollution of oceans. An intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) was then convened and held its first session in June 2010. It carried out its work over five sessions, and on 19 January 2013, at the fifth session or INC 5, governments agreed to the text of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. [IISD RS Meeting Coverage] [Meeting Website] [INC 5 Report and Convention Text]


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