The Indigenous Peoples Platform of the Minamata Convention on Mercury aims to bring together Indigenous voices to promote the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in the work of the Minamata Convention to put an end to mercury pollution.
Noting with concern that Indigenous Peoples, as well as local communities, are particularly vulnerable to mercury exposure and are among the first to face the serious health and environmental effects resulting from mercury pollution owing to their close relationship with the environment and its resources, and welcoming the role of Indigenous Peoples, as well as local communities, and particularly the engagement of women and girls, who have faced the effects of mercury with resilience, in achieving the objective of the Minamata Convention and the targets and goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the COP noted the importance of broadening participation of Indigenous Peoples, as well as local communities, in the implementation of projects and programmes undertaken under the Minamata Convention and encouraged parties to support, as appropriate, participation of Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, as well as local communities and other relevant stakeholders, in meetings of the Conference of the Parties, and in other related processes.
The Secretariat is currently seeking to enlarge its network and improve the active engagement of Indigenous Peoples, as well as local communities, in implementation of projects and programmes undertaken under the Minamata Convention and to prepare a report on the needs and priorities of Indigenous Peoples and local communities with regard to the effects of mercury on their health, livelihoods, culture and knowledge.
Paragraph 7 of Decision MC-5/7, the Conference of the Parties requested the Secretariat, subject to the availability of resources, to prepare a supplemental section of the guidance document on developing a national action plan to reduce and, where feasible, eliminate mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining, on the effective engagement and participation of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and other stakeholders in the development and implementation of national action plans (supplemental guidance).
During the intersessional period, the Secretariat prepared an initial draft of the supplemental guidance through the generous financial support of Australia and Norway.
Parties, Indigenous Peoples and local community organizations, and relevant stakeholders are invited to submit inputs to the draft supplemental guidance by using this comment form and email it to the Secretariat (mea-minamatasecretariat [at] un.org) by Wednesday, 30 April 2025.
