October 11, 2013,Kumamoto, Japan — Ninety-two governments signed the Minamata Convention for Mercury adopted at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries (Diplomatic Conference), attended by over 1,000 delegates from 139 countries.

The Minamata Convention for Mercury is a global treaty aimed at protecting human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. The Convention is open for signing by all states and regional economic integration organizations before Oct. 9, 2014, at the central UN institutions in New York, NY.

The Convention enters into force on the 90th day following the deposit of the 50th state’s instrument of ratification, adoption, approval or accession.

Among the first to sign the convention was Japan – the country where the Minamata disease, caused by accumulation of methylmercury in the body, had been discovered. Ukraine, a participant in the process of preparation of this global, legally binding treaty, has not yet signed it.

The ceremonial opening of the conference was held on Oct. 9 in Minamata, the city which had given its name to the disease. After the opening, the conference participants moved to the Kumamoto Prefecture capital, where on Oct. 10 they formally adopted the treaty, which had been agreed at the final session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan. 13–18, 2013.

The Geneva INC session had been preceded by the committee’s sessions in Punta del Este, Uruguay (June 27 – July 2, 2012), Nairobi, Kenya (Oct. 31 – Nov. 5, 2011), Chiba, Japan (Jan. 24–28, 2011), and Stockholm, Sweden (June 7–11, 2010).

The texts of the Convention in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are available at the Convention site at
http://www.mercuryconvention.org/Convention/tabid/3426/Default.aspx