4 November 2011: At the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to Prepare a Global Legally Binding Instrument on Mercury (INC3), delegates conducted negotiations on the new draft text (UNEP(DTIE)/Hg.INC.3/3), and requested the Secretariat to compile a revised draft text based on the plenary negotiations, the reports of the INC 3 contact groups and the work of the Legal Group.

INC 3 took place from 31 October-4 November 2011, in Nairobi, Kenya. It was the third of five meetings scheduled to convene prior to the 27th session of the UN Environment Programme Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (UNEP GC/GMEF) in 2013, where the negotiations are supposed to be concluded. At INC 1, delegates exchanged ideas and set goals for the convention, and at INC 2, participants discussed their views on what should be included in the agreement. Delegates at INC 3 had the task of taking the vision set out during the first two meetings and turning it into the text that will comprise this legally binding instrument.

While delegates made demonstrable progress in some areas, the divisions at INC 3 and the lack of emerging “champions” of the process indicated that the successful conclusion of this process is not a foregone conclusion. Deep divisions on issues such as financing and control measures underscored the need for flexibility and serious compromise. [IISD RS Coverage of Meeting]