June 22
In a few days the fourth out of five session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare a global legally binding instrument on Mercury (INC4) will be held in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
The mitigation, reduction and elimination of mercury in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) in the world is a complicated subject that requires global coordination and an agreement to act from many different parties. The exclusive focus on prohibition produces undesirable effects, most notably the increased marginalization of mining communities and negative impacts on health and environment.
“If you only take this as an environmental problem, it outs overlooks the real roots of the problem. I’m really worried that we are wasting our time and our money in actions that don’t go very far.“ Laura Barreto, Chair of the ARM Board, stated in an interview with Al Jazeera when ARM participated in INC3 in Nairobi back in 2011.
The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare a global legally binding instrument on Mercury (INC4) will be held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 27 June to 2 July 2012.
Read the press release.