|
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. This Convention was a result of three years of meeting and negotiating, after which the text of the Convention was ratified by delegates from 140 countries on 19 January 2013. The Convention is named after the Japanese city Minimata. This naming is of symbolic importance as the city went through devastating incident of mercury poisoning. It is expected that over the next few decades, this international agreement will enhance the reduction of mercury pollution from the targeted activities responsible for the major release of mercury to the immediate environment. == History == Mercury and mercury compounds have long been known to be toxic to humans and other organisms. Large-scale public health crises due to mercury poisoning, such as Minamata disease and Niigata Minamata disease, drew attention to the issue. In 1972, delegates to the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment witnessed Japanese junior high school student Shinobu Sakamoto, disabled as the result of methylmercury poisoning ''in utero''. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was established shortly thereafter. The idea to create an international agreement about mercury emission dates back to 2003. The reason the idea was not initially put into an action was that the USA called for voluntary actions to decrease the emission, undermining the need for the treaty. However, on 20 February 2009, the 25th Governing Council of UNEP adopted a decision "to initiate international action to manage mercury in an efficient, effective and coherent manner."〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = United Nations Environment Programme )〕 Finally, it the UNEP Governing council meeting, USA agreed to work together with other nations to create a binding agreement on mercury emission. The negotiation process was promptly established by the governing council, in which countries aspiring to sign the treaty, created the text of the convention. Outside members also gave some input in terms of lobbying and giving professional advice.〔 An Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) was established, chaired by Fernando Lugris of Uruguay and supported by the Chemicals Branch of UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics. The INC held five sessions to discuss and negotiate a global agreement on mercury: * INC 1, 7 to 11 June 2010, in Stockholm, Sweden〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = United Nations Environment Programme )〕 * INC 2, 24 to 28 January 2011, in Chiba, Japan 〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = United Nations Environment Programme )〕 * INC 3, 31 October to 4 November 2011, in Nairobi, Kenya 〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = United Nations Environment Programme )〕 * INC 4, 27 June to 2 July 2012, in Punta del Este, Uruguay 〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = United Nations Environment Programme )〕 * INC 5, 13 to 18 January 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland 〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = United Nations Environment Programme )〕 Forty participating countries were tested for mercury by the representatives from IPEN and different nonpartisan organizations from Sweden. Each country was positive on mercury, and, "more than a third exceeded the U.S. National Research Council reference dose of 1 ppm." This created a bigger wish among the countries to decrease the impact of mercury.〔 On 19 January 2013, after negotiating late into the night, the negotiations concluded with 147 governments agreeing to the draft convention text. The Convention was adopted and opened for signature on 10 October 2013, at a Conference of Plenipotentiaries (Diplomatic Conference) in Kumamoto, Japan, preceded by a Preparatory Meeting from 7–8 October 2013.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher=United Nations Environment Programme )〕 The European Union and 86 countries signed the Convention on the first day it was open.〔 〕 A further 5 countries signed the Convention on the final day of the Diplomatic Conference, 11 October 2013. The Convention will enter into force 90 days after it has been ratified by 50 nations. During the interim period, further meetings of the INC will be held to address such details as the organization of a permanent secretariat. Fernando Lugris, the Uruguayan chair delegate, proclaimed, "Today in the early hours of 19 January 2013 we have closed a chapter on a journey that has taken four years of often intense but ultimately successful negotiations and opened a new chapter towards a sustainable future. This has been done in the name of vulnerable populations everywhere and represents an opportunity for a healthier and more sustainable century for all peoples." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Minamata Convention on Mercury」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|