Sixth session of the Intergovernmental
Negotiating Committee on Mercury (INC 6)

The sixth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to Prepare a Global Legally Binding Instrument on Mercury (INC6) opened Monday in Bangkok, Thailand. During the opening session, delegates were welcomed by Fatoumata Keita-Ouane, Head of UNEP Chemicals Branch, INC Chair Fernando Lugris (Uruguay), and Suphot Tovichakchaikul, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Thailand). Naoko Ishii, CEO, Global Environment Facility (GEF) highlighted the allocation of US$ 141 million for implementation of the Minamata Convention over the next four years and presented a video which urged early ratification of the Minamata Convention. Delegates also heard statements from some of the parties that have ratified the Convention, including the US, Guinea, and Gabon, all of whom encouraged other countries to ratify the Convention as soon as possible.

On Tuesday morning, INC6 delegates convened in plenary to continue their work to prepare for the entry into force of the Minamata Convention and the first meeting of the Conference of Parties. At the start of the session, Chair Lugris announced that Nicaragua had submitted its instrument of ratification, becoming the eighth party to the Minamata Convention.

In the afternoon, plenary was suspended to allow delegates to meet in contact groups on technical issues and finance. The groups worked late into the evening.

On Wednesday, INC6 delegates convened in plenary in the morning and heard reports from the co-chairs of the contact groups on technical issues and finance. They began work on effectiveness evaluation (Article 22) and the Conference of the Parties (Article 23) in plenary and continued their work in contact groups on technical issues and finance in the late morning and afternoon. In the evening, delegates attended a reception hosted by Switzerland.

On Thursday, INC6 delegates convened in plenary in the morning to hear reports from Contact Groups on finance and technical issues. They also addressed issues including Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM), environmentally sound interim storage, mercury wastes and contaminated sites. Contact Groups during the day to discuss rules and reporting, technical issues and finance. In the evening, delegates attended a reception hosted by the Government of Thailand before returning to the Contact Groups on finance, and rules and reporting.

On Friday, INC6 delegates convened in plenary in the morning to hear reports from the Co-Chairs of the Contact Groups on finance and rules and reporting. Plenary was then suspended until 3:00 pm to allow the Contact Groups additional time.

In the afternoon, delegates reconvened in plenary to consider the work completed by the contact groups and to address other business, including the report of the Interim Secretariat on its activities.

Noting that the intersessional period will be “intense” as preparations for INC7 – and ultimately COP1 – continue, Chair Lugris thanked participants for their hard work and gavelled the meeting to a close at 6:20 pm