Ruslan Strelets: On Ukraine's accession to the Minamata Convention on Mercury

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On Ukraine's accession to the Minamata Convention on Mercury

11.05.23 14:42

Soon we expect the Verkhovna Rada to consider the draft law "On Ukraine's accession to the Minamata Convention on Mercury". After so many years of delay, Ukraine will finally establish adequate rules for handling this liquid poisonous metal. for the fakes existing around it was not approved, during this time 141 countries of the world have already joined the Convention.

And today, when a terrorist country, a state of decline - Russia is looking for some reason not to participate in the Convention, we once again show that we are moving along with the entire civilized world.

What does participation in the Convention mean for Ukraine?

This is access to international financial resources that will help clean our country from mercury:

for example, to solve a long-standing problem with the RADIKAL plant. Hundreds of tons of mercury in the open air in the capital is an abnormal and dangerous phenomenon. Let's get an opportunity to solve this issue in a civilized way;
there are a number of sites around the country where there are still traces of mercury from the Soviet technologies used;
we still have a large number of mercury and fluorescent lamps, mercury-containing devices that need to be disposed of.

Our partners are ready to help Ukraine go this way - from joining the Convention to gaining access to all its instruments. For example, we reached the relevant cooperation agreements with the Executive Secretary of the Convention, Monika Stankiewicz, during a meeting on the sidelines of the COP15 Conference.

Therefore, having secured strong support, we continue to introduce qualitative changes and transform the country.

I thank the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the European Union for supporting the bill and approving its submission to the session hall for voting.

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