Legally binding instrument on
mercury
At its 25th session, the
Governing Council
agreed to elaborate a legally binding instrument on mercury, and asked UNEP
to convene an intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) with the mandate to
prepare the legally binding instrument, commencing its work in 2010. The
first session of the committee will be held in Stockholm, Sweden from 7 to
11 June 2010.
To
prepare for the work of the intergovernmental negotiating committee, the
Governing Council established an ad hoc open-ended working group to discuss the negotiating
priorities, timetable and organization of the intergovernmental negotiating
committee. The meeting was held
in Bangkok from 19 to 23 October 2009.
Previously, an Ad-hoc Open Ended Working Group was established by GC
decision 24/3 to review and assess measures to address the global issue of
mercury. The first meeting of this
earlier working group was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in November 2007. The
second meeting took place from 6 to 10
October, 2008 at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Reports and other
meeting documents may be obtained by clicking on the links above.
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