The third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP3) will take place from 25 to 29 November 2019 at the International Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland
Side Events and Briefings:
Sunday 24 November – 13:00-14:00 – Room 3
Technical Briefing on national reporting under the Convention
Article 21 of the Convention requests parties to periodically report on the measures taken to implement the Convention, effectiveness of these measures, and possible challenges they face. The first “short” reporting is due by 31 December 2019, covering Article 3 (mercury supply and trade) and Article 11 (waste). The full reporting is due by 31 December 2021, when parties are expected to report on the measures to phase out mercury-added products by 2020, national action plan on artisanal and small-scale gold mining, etc.
This technical briefing will deep-dive into the technical aspects of the first reporting in 2019, and remind the delegates on the parties’ obligations to control the life-cycle of mercury that they have to report on in 2021.
Programme
1. First biennial reporting by 31 December 2019 – Deep dive
- Question 1 – primary mercury mining
- Question 2 – stocks and sources of mercury
- Question 3 – import consent
- Recent trend in mercury trade
- Question 4 – final disposal facilities
- On-line reporting tool
- National focal points
2. Full reporting by 31 December 2021 – Heads up
- Article 4 (products) – measures taken towards 2020 phase-out
- Article 5 (processes) – measures taken towards 2018/2025 phase-out
- Article 7 (ASGM) – national action plan within three years
- Other articles
Sunday 24 November – 14:00-15:00 – Room 2
Briefing
by the African Group on the proposed amendment to Annex A of the Minamata
Convention on Mercury
African Region
Modérateur/Moderator Mme/Ms. Oarabile Serumola (Botswana)
| Thèmes | Items | Speakers / Intervenants | Duration |
| Conclusions sur l’analyse de la situation régionale sur la dentisterie en Afrique | Conclusions on the analysis of the regional situation on dentistry in Africa | Ing. Serge Molly Allo’o Allo’o (Gabon) | 5mn |
| Pourquoi la région Afrique soutien-t-il l’élimination de l’amalgame dentaire ? | Why does the Africa region support the face out dental amalgam? | Dr. Christopher Kapeshi (Zambia) | 5mn |
| Expérience des alternatives disponibles pour une dentisterie sans mercure en Afrique : Cas de la Côte d’Ivoire | Experience of alternatives available for mercury-free dentistry in Africa: Case of Côte d’Ivoire | Dr. Sy Martial (Côte d’Ivoire) | 5mn |
| Pourquoi l’Alliance mondiale pour une dentisterie sans mercure soutient la proposition d’amendement de la région Afrique ? | Why is the Global Alliance forMercury Free Dentistry supporting the Africa Region Amendment Proposal? | Charlie G. Brown (USA) Sharhriar Hossain Ph.D Vice President, World Alliance (Asia Pacific/ Bangladesh | 5mn |
| Dentisterie sans mercure, opportunité sanitaires et environnementales pour les pays en développement | Mercury-free dentistry, health and environmental opportunities for developing countries | Mariscia Charles (Guyana | 5mn |
| Fondement juridique de la proposition d’amendement de l’Annexe A proposé par la région Afrique | Legal basis of the proposed amendment to Annex A proposed by the Africa region | Dr. Wondwossen Syntayehu (Ethiopie/Institut Africain) | 5mn |
| Questions réponse | Reactions/comments | 20mn |
Overview of the Speakers:
Ms.
Oarabile Serumola (Botswana)
Ms. Oarabile Serumolais chemist, Director of the Department of
Waste Management and Pollution Control under Ministry of Environment, Natural
Resources Conservation and Tourism of Botswana. She administers three Chemical
Conventions : Basel Convention, Stockholm Convention and Minamata
Convention on Mercury. Her core mandates is to regulate the waste sector
through development and implementation of Policies/ legislations and
regulations dealing with waste management. She has over 20 years exprience
dealing with environmental pollution and waste management issues.
Email oserumola@gov.bw Phone + 267 3934483 Mobile +267 73333589.
Serge
Molly Allo’o Allo’o (Gabon)
Serge Molly Allo’o Allo’o is Biochemist, Deputy Director General of the
National Antipollution Center, an institution under the authority of the
Ministry in charge of the Environment whose mission is the fight against
pollution and nuisance. He participated in negotiations on the development of
the Minamata Convention and has extensive experience in negotiating
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) for chemicals and hazardous
wastes.
He is Vice-President of the Minamata’s COP2 on behalf of the Africa Region.
Email sergemolly14@gmail.com Phone +241 077708528
Dr.
Christopher Kapeshi (Zambia)
Dr. Christopher Kapeshi has over 16 years work experience as a
dental surgeon and specializes in oral and maxillofacial surgery. He is
involved in teaching both medical and dental students in government and private
universities in Zambia. He has served as a board member on a multi-national
board. He is currently practicing as a specialist oral and maxillofacial
surgeon at University teaching hospital in Lusaka Zambia. He is currently the
president of the Zambia Dental association (ZDA)
Dr. Say
Martial (Cote d’Ivoire)
Dr. SAY Martial held a Ph D degree in organic chemistry in 2001 at Georgia
State University, Atlanta, Georgia. He is assistant professor in the Department
of Organic Chemistry at Felix Houphouet Boigny University. He has been
appointed to be Coordinator of the National Programme for Chemicals Management
at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. He is also the
National Focal Point of the Minamata Convention on mercury.
Charlie
G. Brown (USA)
Charlie Brown, an attorney, is president of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free
Dentistry, the umbrella NGO which mobilizes civil society to work to end the
use of mercury amalgam. The World Alliance works with governments and NGOs
around the work, and with its regional affiliates: the Asian Center for
Environmental Health, le Centre Africain pour la Santé Environnementale, the
Latin American Center for Environmental Health, and the European Center for
Environmental Medicine.
Ph.D
Sharhriar Hossain (Bangladesh)
Dr. Shahriar Hossain is an ecologist and social justice advocacy, he is being
involved with the Minamata process since 2008 and member of Minamata Convention
mercury waste expert group. He is a contributor and expert of the UNEP
Practical Hand Book on waste. Dr. Shahriar is a social and environmental
activist and founder of Environment and Social Development Organization-ESDO
and working on Mercury Amalgam issue since 2012, he is now the Executive Vice
President of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry.
Mariscia Charles (Guyana)
Ms. Mariscia Charles is a Policy Analyst in the Minister’s Secretariat at the Ministry of Natural Resources in Guyana. She is Guyana’s National Focal Point on the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the National Supervisor for Guyana National Action Plan for the ASGM sector Project, the National Coordinator for the National Working Group for the implementation of the Minamata Convention. She is also a current Bureau member from the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean for COP3. As Guyana’s Minamata Convention project lead, she provides policy advice to the Minister of Natural Resources on a wide range of ministerial and public policy issues specifically to Minamata and Mercury, coordinate and participate in the policy-making consultative processes and prepare and provide quality control reviews and advise on the policy matters.
Dr. Wondwossen Syntayehu (Ethiopie/Institut Africain)
Wondwossen Sintayehu is a lawyer who has extensively represented Ethiopia and Africa in multilateral negotiations on environmental matters. He represented the continent to effectively negotiate the Minamata Convention on Mercury – for which he received the “Public Official of the Year” award in 2013 in Geneva from the World Alliance for Mercury Free Dentistry. He is also a researcher at the University of Massachusetts Boston with specialization on the science-policy interface on environmental policy making processes. Previously, he served as the Policy Director for the Environment Ministry in Ethiopia and coordinated the adoption of several policies and laws on the environment including the chemicals and waste cluster.
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