The Second Meeting of the Ad hoc Open-ended Working Group (OEWG2) to Review and Assess Measures to Address the Global Issue of Mercury was held from 6-10 October 2008, in Nairobi, Kenya.

The OEWG discussed a future mercury framework including: elements to be addressed by a mercury framework; the type of framework to be used; and the capacity building, financial and technical support required to deliver on the elements. Delegates used a document on the common elements of a mercury framework (UNEP(DTIE)/Hg/OEWG.2/8), prepared by the UNEP Secretariat, as a basis for their discussions and for drafting recommendations to the UNEP Governing Council (GC). The outline of the document was informed by the work of the first meeting of the OEWG and based on the priorities articulated in UNEP GC Decision 24/3 IV. Thanks to substantive intersessional work by the Secretariat, participants arrived in Nairobi for their final meeting optimistic about making progress. Delegates were delighted by the “broad agreement” on a policy framework on mercury, a recommendation that the GC adopt a policy framework on mercury, as well as by their success in narrowing down the list of implementation instruments – one legally-binding and three voluntary options – for consideration by the UNEP GC in February 2009.
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IISD RS coverage of OEWG2