The IPEN Global Mercury-Free Campaign:
Mercury - Free: You, Me and Babies

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Launch of the Global Mercury Free Campaign

In order to engage and mobilize a base of public and NGO support for a strong Global Mercury Treaty negotiations, IPEN has launched the Hg-Free campaign including initial Hg-Free Activities in 9 ountries across Africa, Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

The initial activities will follow up the mercury in products and alternatives, Market Analysis Report (see report - as a .pdf file 922KB.) noting most activities will consist of press conferences, press releases and other activities carried out by IPEN Participating Organizations in the 9 countries that will introduce this campaign. IPEN’s Views on a Global Mercury Treaty and the results of an international survey on mercury in products will also be introduced.

If your organization is willing to join the campaign, please contact Jan Samanek, IPEN Heavy Metals Working Group co-coordinator at jan.samanek@arnika.org.

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IPEN Views on a Global Mercury Treaty

  IPEN's Views on a Global Mercury Treaty in English as a .pdf 1,760KB.

A booklet on IPENs views and policy statement on the global United Nations mercury treaty.

In 2009, governments of the world agreed to start negotiations on a global mercury treaty with the goal of finishing by 2013. After consultations and input from NGOs in all regions of the world, IPEN adopted its "Views on a Global Mercury Treaty" policy statement, which explains why a global treaty on mercury is needed and puts forward a civil society vision for the treaty.

View as an online magazine publication by ISSUU.
IPEN Views on a Global Mercury Treaty

Translations:

  Arabic version of IPEN Views on a Global Mercury Treaty as a Adobe .pdf file 169KB.
  Chinese version of IPEN Views on a Global Mercury Treaty as a Adobe .pdf file 228KB.
  Czech version of IPEN Views on a Global Mercury Treaty as a Adobe .pdf file 202KB.
  Portuguese version of IPEN Views on a Global Mercury Treaty as a Adobe .pdf file 167KB.
  Spanish version of IPEN Views on a Global Mercury Treaty as a Adobe .pdf file 1,750KB.
  Russian version of IPEN Views on a Global Mercury Treaty as a Adobe .pdf file 273KB.
  Bahasa Indonesian version of IPEN Views on a Global Mercury Treaty as a Adobe .pdf file 1,790KB.

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Campaign Map

  Campaign Map

The IPEN Global Mercury-Free Campaign will publish results of its work on a global map database as data becomes avalable.

see the first dataset for the Czech Map
Campaign Launch - Czech Map

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Mercury is a global problem:

Mercury is a toxic substance of global concern that causes significant harm to human health, wildlife and ecosystems. Mercury, especially when it is in the form of methylmercury, is highly toxic to humans. Human embryos, fetuses, infants, and children are particularly vulnerable because mercury interferes with neurological development. When a pregnant woman or a woman of reproductive age eats food contaminated with methylmercury, the toxic contaminant crosses the placental barrier and exposes the fetus. Children who eat mercury contaminated foods during their early years are also affected. Mercury adversely affects a child's growing brain and nervous system. Additionally, mercury exposure harms numerous organisms in the environment and can disrupt ecosystems. Since the start of the industrial era, the total amount of mercury circulating in the world's atmosphere, soils, lakes, streams and oceans has increased by a factor of between two and four. These unnaturally high levels of mercury in the environment disrupt ecosystems and can cause harm to human health in all regions of the world.

When mercury is released to the environment, it travels with air currents and then falls back to earth, sometimes nearby the original source and sometimes far away. Mercury can drain from soils to streams, rivers, lakes and oceans and it can also be transported by ocean currents and migratory species. Because mercury travels long distances in the environment and is traded globally, no country or region acting alone can protect its people and its environment from the harms caused by mercury contamination. Hence action on a global level is needed.

Mercury is released to the environment from many sources including: mercury-containing products and devices, product manufacturing sites, industrial processes, mining activities, metal refining, coal combustion, cement kilns, waste dumps and incinerators, contaminated sites, crematoria and many others. Products that contain mercury are still widely produced and traded globally even though substitutes and alternatives are available for most of them including thermometers, blood pressure measuring devices, barometers, batteries, electrical switches and many types of electronic equipment. Very large quantities of mercury continue to be used in industrial processes such as chlor-alkali plants and catalytic processes even though good alternatives exist. Large quantities of mercury are also used in small scale gold mining even though this causes extremely high levels of pollution and exposure.

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_{Health Canada: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/contaminants/mercur/q1-q6_e.html}

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Global mercury treaty:

With the growth of medical and scientific knowledge about mercury and its significant harmful effects on human health and ecosystems, there is now an international consensus on the need to take action to minimize and eliminate mercury exposure from anthropogenic sources. In 2009, via the United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council, the international community agreed to take global action on mercury, and begin negotiations on a global treaty. The treaty is needed to develop and implement a fair and equitable global plan of action that can protect human health, wildlife and ecosystems by eliminating wherever feasible anthropogenic sources of mercury and methylmercury. The first international negotiating session on a mercury treaty will be held in Stockholm, Sweden, from June 7 to 11, 2010. The process is to be completed in 2013.

   INC1. Page   The first session of the Intergovernment Negotiating Committee to prepare a global legally binding instrument on Mercury (INC1) 7-11 June 2010.

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More about the Campaign:

IPEN's Mercury-Free Campaign reflects the alarming international level of human and environmental health threats posed by mercury and aims to build a highly effective and robust base of civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across the globe to support the development of a strong global treaty to eliminate or significantly reduce these threats. The Campaign articulates the need for sound chemicals management and serves as an international integrating platform for raising awareness about serious threats to public health and the environment associated with mercury as well as for strengthening the position of civil society in both national and international policymaking concerning mercury. Within this Campaign, participating NGOs from all over the world work together to share information, experiences and capacities with the aim of promoting international policy changes, national heavy metals policy awareness, and other actions targeted at advancing a non-toxic environment agenda.

Activities carried out within this Campaign include:

Mercury monitoring activities such as surveys on mercury-containing products and the availability of mercury-free alternatives, etc.;

Capacity building: Civil Society Organization and NGO trainings;

Promoting the need for sound chemicals management and national and international policy changes by awareness-raising campaigns;

Promoting NGO policy engagement by global civil society and enhancing the dialogue between NGOs and decision-makers;

Developing and distributing publications with relevant scientific data on mercury;

Supporting NGOs in developing countries and countries with economies in transition across Asia, Africa, Central/Eastern Europe and Latin America in improving chemical safety;

Supporting programs or activities that link to international mercury discussions; and

Providing a frame for Civil Society contributions to the Global Mercury Treaty process by tracking global activities and developing global NGO reports as contributions to international meetings.

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Market Analysis Report:

Market Analysis Report as a .pdf file 922KB.

Market analysis of some mercury-containing products and their mercury-free alternatives in selected regions.

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The countries represented are:

Kenya
Senegal
China
India
Kyrgyzstan
Russia
Czech Republic
Brazil
Mexico

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Press releases:

Launch of the Global Mercury Free Campaign - 27th April 2010
Campaign Launch - Czech Press

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  Version: April 2010