Events

The Mercury Waste Management Area of the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership will hold its first meeting of the year on 21 March 2025, from 12:00-14:00 CET, in an online setting.

The meeting will be the occasion to share updates on the working groups, as well as key highlights on the implementation of ongoing projects.

Provisional Agenda

This event co-organized by the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Geneva Environment Network will feature leading voices to highlight the need of addressing the underlying socio-cultural norms surrounding skin-lightening products.

The third meeting of the Eliminating Mercury Skin Lightening Products project stakeholders group took place on Thursday 30 January 2025, in an online setting.

The event provided an opportunity to share updates and lessons learned from the GEF project on Eliminating Mercury Skin Lightening Products, to present draft report on Cosmetics Listed in Part I of Annex A to the Minamata Convention on Mercury and to hear from stakeholders regarding their experiences.

Du 20 au 22 janvier 2025, Libreville a accueilli un atelier régional historique, réunissant 15 pays africains pour élaborer une stratégie unifiée visant à éliminer les produits éclaircissants pour la peau contenant du mercure et d’autres substances dangereuses. Il s’agissait de la première initiative régionale de ce type, marquant une étape importante vers la protection de la santé publique et de l’environnement sur tout le continent.

From January 20 to 22, 2025, Libreville hosted a landmark regional workshop, bringing together 15 African nations to develop a unified strategy to eliminate harmful skin-lightening products containing mercury and other hazardous substances. This marked the first regional initiative of its kind, signaling a significant step toward safeguarding public health and the environment across the continent.

The Partnership Advisory Group held its fifteenth meeting on 10 December 2024 in an online setting.

Seizing the opportunity of the forthcoming twentieth anniversary of the Global Mercury Partnership, the meeting was the occasion to discuss possible options for strengthening the Partnership contribution to the implementation of the Minamata Convention and other existing global action on mercury, share updates on recent and ongoing activities and exchange on priority topics for future work.

In light of recent decisions of the fourth and fifth Conferences of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP-4 and COP-5), efforts towards the compliance with the Convention requirements should, among others, consider health and environmental matters jointly, ensuring as well as Parties and relevant stakeholders’ engagement on key information sharing and targeted actions.

Side Event: Phasing down the use of dental amalgam: Insights from Asia, Africa and South America  - A side event during the WHO Global oral health meeting

When: Thursday 28 November, 17:00 to 18:00

Where: Bangkok, Thailand

BACKGROUND:

The Mercury Waste Management Area (WMA) of the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership met online on 14 November 2024.

The meeting shared updates on the working groups, as well as key highlights on the implementation of ongoing projects.

Agenda

Where: Blue Zone Colombia Pavilion

When: Friday 25 October 15:00-16:00