The Minamata Convention on Mercury pays specific attention to the needs of vulnerable populations, especially women and children, in several parts of its text. Gender concerns are embedded in the preamble and various articles of the Convention. The Convention’s primary objective is to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury; integral to this commitment is the understanding that some populations are distinctly vulnerable to ambient, occupational, or consumption exposures, and that there is considerable socio-environmental variability in the effects of mercury.
The Secretariat is carrying out the following priority activities as part of the implementation of the Gender action Plan for the 2024-2025 biennium:
On the occasion of International Women's Day, the Secretariat organized the first webinar of the 2024 Minamata Online series on the theme “Mainstreaming gender in capacity-building projects: practical approaches”. This webinar showcased how gender considerations are integrated by the Specific International Programme, the Global Environment Facility and the Special Programme on Institutional Strengthening for the Chemicals Cluster into application criteria for funding, application guidelines, project applications, reporting forms and project evaluation processes. The delivery of the webinar is one of the priority activities for this biennium under the Minamata Convention Gender Action Plan.
Thanks to the generous support of Finland, the Secretariat is also planning the delivery of two other gender priority activities in 2024: the review of gender elements in existing national action plans and the development of case studies on the gender dimensions of projects funded by the SIP.
The Secretariat is aslo reviewing, according to gender considerations, national reports submitted by parties under article 21 to identify measures related to the control of mercury-added products used primarily by women and children, such as cosmetics and dental amalgam.
Intersessional work and Submissions for COP-5
Gender
The Minamata Convention on Mercury pays specific attention to the needs of vulnerable populations, especially women and children, in several parts of its text.
Gender Action Plan
COP-4 decision MC-4/10 on gender mainstreaming invites Parties, inter alia, to support the secretariat in its efforts to mainstream gender into all activities to be undertaken by the secretariat as well as by parties and other stakeholders, including thorough the development of a gender action plan for the Minamata Convention during the biennium 2022‒2023.
Pursuant to decision MC-4/10, the secretariat is organizing online consultations for Parties and other stakeholders between September and November 2022 to receive input on a draft gender action, which was prepared by the secretariat thanks to the generous financial support of Sweden. A call for nominations to participate in this consultive process has been issued by the secretariat on 12 August 2022.
The draft gender action plan, incorporating the inputs received during the consultative process, is expected to be submitted for consideration by the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, which is scheduled to take place from 30 October to 3 November 2023 in Geneva.
Gender Roadmap
At the second segment of COP-4, the Conference of the Parties took note, in decision MC-4/10, of the gender road map of the Minamata Convention, developed by the secretariat in 2021 and submitted to the Conference of the Parties in working document MC/COP.4/22 on gender mainstreaming.
The roadmap is living document, which already incorporates inputs from parties. The Secretariat is looking forward to further collaborating with Parties and stakeholders to recognize the importance of this issue and welcomes the submission of additional comments and inputs on the roadmap.
Should you need further information, please do not hesitate to contact Lara Ognibene, Legal/Programme Officer and Gender Focal Point, at lara.ognibene [at] un.org.
Intersessional work and Submissions for COP-4
Gender
The third Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (25-29 November 2019, Geneva, Switzerland) decided to include gender as a focus area of the Convention’s Programme of Work for the biennium 2020—2021 (Activity 13). Thanks to the generous financial support of Sweden, the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention has undertaken to develop a gender roadmap with the objective of mainstreaming gender within its programme of work.
The Secretariat of the Minamata Convention on Mercury invited Parties and interested stakeholders to submit, by December 13th, 2020, scientific, technical and policy information on gender and mercury following the indications on the Call for information on Gender and Mercury.
Information on integrating gender into national policies, plans, and actions, as well as material of a scientific or technical nature is sought, including studies, webinars and videos that explore:
the impacts of mercury exposure on vulnerable groups, such as women and children;
gender-differentiated relationships in producing, using, working with, or otherwise engaging with mercury;
advocacy around controlling use and exposures;
gender relationship across all sectors – mining, energy, manufacturing processes, consumer products, such as cosmetics and other mercury-added products, and mercury waste management.
