© ARM
28 October 2013
During the Diplomatic Conference on the Minamata Convention between the 7th and 11th of October, we had the honor of intervening to applaud the signature of the Minamata Convention, as well as to emphasize important issues to be considered as the world takes its next steps towards global mercury reduction. Representing the Alliance for Responsible Mining, Chair of our Board of Directors Dr. María Laura Barreto and Executive Board Member Mr. Patrick Schein were present at the conference.
The signature of the Minamata Convention marks a true milestone for the 20 million artisanal miners in the world who can now finally benefit from a global framework for mercury reduction. Since the beginning of the negotiation process in 2009, our goal has been to raise awareness on the importance of the economic and social contribution of the artisanal mining sector locally, nationally and internationally as well as the potential of the sector as a development tool of high impact.
We believe that addressing Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) directly through the National Action Plans is a correct approach for countries to deal with the challenges the sector faces. However, as it was emphasized by Dr. Maria Laura Barreto in her address at the conference, “these national plans need to be designed and implemented in partnership with the relevant actors, including and especially the miners, to make sure the plans respond to the actual needs of the sector and that they contribute sustainably to their country economies.”
Dr. Barreto furthermore expressed our concern about the provisions on the mercury supply to the sector. A brutal and immediate reduction of the legal supply without appropriate formalization, technology transfer and capacity building of the artisanal miners will inevitably lead to further illegality and expose the sector to criminal groups.
Additionally, we feel the urgency to point out how important it is that the mercury problems faced by the sector now do not merely transition into cyanide problems as a result of a lack of appropriate affordable and efficient mercury-free technological alternatives for miners. In the interest of the communities health and environmental impact, the world cannot afford to create these kinds of new problems while trying to solve old ones.
We offer our knowledge and resources to assist governments and involved organizations to make sure that the convention truly fulfills its promise to become the miners’ ally on the path to sustainability.