The fifth and final day of the resumed fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-4.2) alternated between plenary sessions, resumed contact group sessions, and bilateral consultations in an effort to conclude agreement on all topics.
At noon, the plenary convened to hear progress reports from contact groups, elect members of the Bureau, Implementation and Compliance Committee (ICC) and the Governing Body of the Special International Programme on capacity building and technical assistance (SIP), and agree on a date and venue for COP-5. Claudia Dumitru, Romania, was elected COP-5 President. COP-5 was tentatively set for 28 October – 4 November 2023 in Geneva, depending on availability of the venue.
Plenary resumed in the evening, and met until the wee hours of Saturday. By the time COP-4.2 gaveled to a close, decisions were adopted on the following items:
- National reporting;
- Enhanced cooperation between the Secretariats of the Minamata Convention and the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions;
- The terms of reference for the next review of the financial mechanism;
- Updated guidance for preparing national action plans regarding mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM);
- Gender mainstreaming in Minamata Convention activities;
- International cooperation;
- Guidance for methodology for preparing national inventories of mercury releases;
- Waste thresholds;
- Effectiveness evaluation;
- Review and amendment of Annexes A and B; and
- Budget and Programme of Work.
President Ratnawati closed the meeting at 5:21 am Saturday 26 March.
The Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis of this meeting will be available on Monday, 28 March 2022, on this webpage.
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All ENB photos are free to use with attribution. For Minamata COP-4.2, please use: Photo by IISD/ENB Kiara Worth.
Morning Plenary
Delegates during the morning plenary
COP-4 President, Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, Indonesia
Co-Chair of the Contact Group on Programme of Work and Budget Reginald Hernaus, the Netherlands
Naresh Pal Gangwar, India
Marie-Claire Lhenry, EU
A delegate photographs the names of the bureau nominations
Delegates applaud the election of the new bureau
Contact Groups
Contact Group on Waste Thresholds
Co-Chairs for the Contact Group on Waste Thresholds Karissa Kovner, US, and Teeraporn Wiriwutikorn, Thailand
A delegate refers to the Minamata Convention during the negotiations
Delegates raise their hand to make an intervention
Delegates during the Contact Group on Effectiveness Evaluation
Co-Chairs for the Contact Group on Effectiveness Evaluation Agustin Harte, Argentina, and Rodges Ankrah, US
Delegates during the contact groups
Delegates from Africa consult
Delegates from Europe consult
Minamata Bureau Meeting
The incoming and outgoing Minamata Bureau Members gather on the final day
COP-4 President, Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, Indonesia
Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary, Minamata Convention
The Minamata dolls, made of reclaimed wood from Minamata Bay, represent an adult and child suffering from Minamata disease. The dolls have no faces, no ears, eyes or nose, meant to symbolize that the work is incomplete, and much remains to be done under the Minamata Convention.
Incoming COP-5 President Claudia Dumitru, Romania
Incoming COP-5 President Claudia Dumitru, Romania, COP-4 President Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, Indonesia, and Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary, Minamata Convention
Minamata Bureau family photo
Closing Plenary
View of the dais during closing plenary
COP-4 Rapporteur Angela Patricia Rivera Galvis, Colombia
Christopher Kanema, Zambia
Roger Baro, Burkina Faso, on behalf of the African Group
Monica Isaza Bordamalo, Colombia, on behalf of the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC)
Francisca Klaasen, Chile
Dominique Bally Kpokro, on behalf of NGOs
Delegates are exhausted as negotiations go beyond 4am
Michel Tschirren, Switzerland
Mohsen Naziri Asl, Iran
COP-4 President, Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, Indonesia, hits the gavel as various decisions are adopted
Delegates applaud as decisions are adopted
Around the Venue
The IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team covering Minamata COP-4.2: Ben Crowe, UK; Nadia Sohier Zaman, Canada; Keith Ripley, US; and Kiara Worth, South Africa. Joining virtually: Delia Paul, Malaysia/Australia.
Delegates from Saint Kitts and Nevis
Delegates from Norway
Delegates from the Czech Republic
Delegates from Nigeria
Delegates from Brazil
Delegates from Thailand
Delegates visit the IISD ENB website to see the photos of the day
Delegates meet informally during the day
David Ogden, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Secretariat
