Jordan to host int'l talks on legally binding regulations on mercury

AMMAN — Over 800 participants will take part in the upcoming seventh session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee on mercury (INC 7), which seeks to prepare a global legally binding instrument on mercury, a senior official said Wednesday.

The INC 7 is scheduled to be held between March 10 and 15 at the King Hussein Convention Centre on the shores of the Dead Sea, Minister of Environment Taher Shakhshir said at a press conference to announce the event.

"During the seventh session, several technical, legal and guiding documents will be presented to facilitate the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury…," Shakhshir said.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. 

It was agreed at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Geneva, Switzerland in 2013, according to its website.

The major highlights of the Minamata Convention include a ban on new mercury mines, the phase-out of existing ones, control measures on air emissions, and the international regulation of the informal sector for artisanal and small-scale gold mining. 

The convention draws attention to a global and ubiquitous metal that, while naturally occurring, has broad uses in everyday objects and is released to the atmosphere, soil and water from a variety of sources. 

Controlling the anthropogenic releases of mercury throughout its lifecycle has been a key factor in shaping the obligations under the convention, according to its website.

"Jordan signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2013 and ratified it in 2015," Shakhshir told The Jordan Times.

He underscored that the Kingdom has banned the import of thermometers and blood pressure monitors that contain mercury, noting that there is high inspection on toys entering the country to make sure they don’t contain mercury, while the use of the element in paint factories, electronics and computers has also been banned.