Geneva—Today, as the United Nations highlights “the urgent need to address the harmful effects” of mercury added skin lightening products (SLPs) on the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21, advocates are calling on governments to enforce bans and collaborate globally to end the toxic beauty trade.

As the world observes the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21, UNEP in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention highlights the urgent need to address the harmful effects of skin-lightening mercury-containing products (SLPs). Toxic beauty ideals are among the many effects of racism, with people worldwide too often feeling pressure to change their skin tone, putting health at risk.

The Report on activities undertaken within the Global Mercury Partnership, 2022-2023 is now available.

COOGAVEPE technology center in Peixoto de Azevedo, Brazil, October 2023.

The Secretariat of the Minamata Convention participated in the Bern III Conference on cooperation among the biodiversity-related conventions for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which took place from 23 to 25 January 2024 in Bern, Switzerland. The Conference was organized by the government of Switzerland and UNEP. Read the entire news

The first edition of the year starts with a few words from Rodges Ankrah, Co-Chair of the Partnership Advisory Group, presenting how 2024 brings opportunities for the partnership as well as welcoming Bianca Dlamini, the new Co-Chair. Follow highlights, recent and upcoming events, interesting resources, and new partners.

Among the decisions made at COP-5, Parties defined new dates to phase out mercury-added products including cosmetics, strengthened ties with Indigenous Peoples, advanced the first effectiveness evaluation of the Convention, and reached an agreement on a threshold for mercury waste. Read more on Minamata Convention website

As the sun rises across Mexico’s Sierra Gorda nature reserve, a golden light illuminates its nearly 400,000 hectares of mountains, gorges and valleys. Set amid this vast wilderness is the Bucareli mercury mine. Just after dawn, a metal door to the mine opens. The morning’s silence is broken by the dull sound of a generator and workers traipsing to their posts. Among them is Jose Vigil, one of 800 people in the region who mine mercury, a highly toxic substance. But for Vigil and the other miners, the clock is ticking.

The National Institute for Minamata Disease (NIMD), in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UNEP ROAP), is organizing laboratory proficiency testing (PT) for assessing the analytical capacity for mercury. The PT provides the individual proficiency levels of participating laboratories as well as collective mercury monitoring capacity in the region.

21-26 May 2023, Kara – Togo Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is recognised in Africa, and particularly in West Africa, as one of the income-generating activities for local communities. However, despite the positive economic benefits, particularly in terms of improving living conditions, ASGM requires special attention, particularly in terms of organisation, regulations and sustainable practices that respect human health and the environment.

It is October 2013, and Rimiko Yoshinaga is standing behind a podium in Minamata, Japan, gazing at an auditorium packed with world leaders. Silence descends upon the room as she begins recounting how a mysterious illness had killed her father decades earlier.   Yoshinaga would learn her father was one of thousands of Minamata-area residents poisoned in the 1950s and 1960s by industrial runoff laced with mercury, a neurotoxin.

As we reached the 6th anniversary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury entering into force, many countries are moving from planning to implementation of the required actions to make mercury history.

21-26 mai 2023, Kara – Togo L’extraction artisanale et à petite échelle de l’or est reconnue en Afrique, et particulièrement en Afrique de l’Ouest, comme l’une des activités génératrices de revenus pour les communautés autochtones. Cependant, malgré les retombées économiques positives notamment pour l’amélioration des conditions de vie des populations, la pratique de l’orpaillage nécessite une attention particulière notamment en termes d’organisation, réglementations, et pratiques durables respectueuses de la santé humaine et de l’environnement.

Every week, Ibu Sugiyanti makes her way to the small-scale gold mining camp where she teaches mercury-free alternatives to other women miners. The site is located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, in the village of Logas, an impressive biodiversity hotspot that is also home to hundreds of small-scale gold miners. Sugiyanti’s efforts aim to empower women and transform the way mining is approached in this vibrant corner of Sumatra. 

On the occasion of the 2023 International Day for Biodiversity, a new study sheds light on the profound socio-economic consequences of mercury pollution on biodiversity, fisheries and livelihoods. Mercury, a highly hazardous substance with detrimental effects on both humans and animals, poses significant risks to health and ecosystems. Read the entire news

For centuries, human beings have endangered body and mind in pursuit of the toxic fallacy that pale skin represents the highest form of beauty.

Artisanal mining is a common activity in various regions of Brazil, but despite its economic benefits it also faces significant challenges that expose workers to multiple risks, including the use of mercury in mineral extraction. These challenges are especially pronounced for Brazilian women, who often face gender discrimination, poor working conditions, and health risks.

Strapped together by tape and frayed ropes, wooden logs demarcate the mineshaft’s entrance, a hole in the ground no larger than a metre square. A young man nearby cranks a lever, kickstarting some generators. The steady hum of the machinery blends with the creaking of a pulley system, drowning out the sounds of the gentle breeze blowing through the mining site, located in Paracale, north Philippines.

Gabon, Jamaica and Sri Lanka have joined forces to reduce the environmental and health toll of the skin lightening industry $14-million initiative will support a holistic approach to eliminate mercury from skin lightening products and promote the beauty of all skin tones Many skin lightening products include mercury, posing significant risks to human health and the environment Eliminating Mercury Skin Lightening Products

Communication from TAUW bv The not-for-profit Foundation of TAUW, who recently joined the Partnership, is currently calling for tenders with up to EUR 120,000 support available for individual projects that stimulate, accelerate, and (financially) support sustainable non-profit projects focused on initiatives that aim for a sustainable and valuable impact on the physical living environment, including reductions in mercury use, release, emission, and bioavailability.

Minamata Initial Assessments (MIAs) provide analyses of the national context with respect to sources of inputs, emissions and discharges of mercury and its compounds. In addition to exploring the countries' legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks, the MIAs provide a national mercury inventory using the UNEP Toolkit for the Identification and Quantification of Emissions and Releases of Mercury and its Compounds.

The Global Mercury Partnership explores ASGM and Biodiversity

Mining is not something that most people associate with Costa Rica. The country is portrayed as a land of volcanoes, rainforests, captivating wildlife and paradise coastlines. Costa Rica is also a well-known and applauded environmental model in terms of its law and regulations protecting country’s biodiversity and ecosystems.

The Partnership Advisory Group (PAG) decided at its tenth meeting, held in Geneva on 23 November 2019, to begin work on the subject of mercury from oil and gas, which it had identified as cross-cutting between different Partnership areas. In follow-up to expert consultations in April 2020, Partnership area leads agreed to oversee a process for developing a study report, with a view to better understanding how mercury can be released, in addition to how waste is treated and accounted for and how it may enter the market for other uses.

Within the project for “promoting the Minamata Convention on Mercury by making the most of Japan's knowledge and experiences”, the National Institute for Minamata Disease (NIMD), in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UNEP ROAP), calls laboratories that undertake mercury analysis for monitoring, survey or research, to participate in a ‘Proficiency Testing’ for assessing their analytical capacity.