GUYANA has been nominated to serve on the Bureau of the Conference of Parties (CoP) to the Minamata Conference on mercury.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the nomination was made against the backdrop of strides made by Guyana in implementing the Minamata Convention on the use of mercury in mining.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and its compounds. The convention came into force in August 2017.
The ministry stated in a release that the agency’s Project Officer Marisica Charles was recently elected at the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Conference on Mercury 2 (CoP2) at the International Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, as one of the two vice-presidents from the Group of Latin America and Caribbean countries (GRULAC).

Charles now joins Vice-President Maris Del Mar Solano from Costa Rica as the GRULAC’s representatives and two members each of the UN for other regions. CoP 3 will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from November 25 — 29, 2019.
The ministry said that bureau members are tasked to represent their regions and individual countries and parties’ interests, as it relates to the implementation of the Minamata Convention.

“This election has catapulted Guyana’s position and commitment in the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the protection of people’s lives and livelihoods, and the sustainability of the environment,” the ministry said.
The CoP 2 conference which ran from November 19-22 saw in attendance a five-member delegation from Guyana comprising the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman; Ambassador and Permanent Resident of Guyana to the United Nations and Office and Other International Organisations at Geneva and the WTO, Ambassador Dr. John Deep Ford; and representatives from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Over the five- day period, the delegation participated in the Plenary and Contact Group discussions for the adoption of articles and agenda items aimed at the phased and total elimination of the use of mercury in all activities and specifically for Guyana in the Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector.
In October 2013 Guyana signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury and ratified it in September 2014

At the Conference of Parties 1, held in September 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland, His Excellency President David Granger affirmed Guyana’s position and commitment to eliminate the use of mercury by 2027.

“The Ministry of Natural Resources continues to recognise the environmental and human health risks of mercury use and pollution. A National Working Group has been reconstituted as of August 2018 and currently has been reviewing the draft National Action Plan with stakeholders giving comments and inputs on how it can be completed,” the agency said.