Hazardous mercury emissions stalk African gold miners

The United States based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Minamata Convention signed last Saturday was a product of three years of intense talks.



Juliane Kippenberg, a senior children's rights researcher said the treaty was the first such agreement with explicit action on prevention and treatment of mercury poisoning. 



"Although this treaty is a historic development, governments could and should have done more to make health strategies mandatory," Kippenberg said in a statement.

However, HRW criticised the treaty for failing to address child labour or setting deadline for the phasing out of the use of mercury in small-scale mining.

http://www.theafricareport.com/east-horn-africa/hazardous-mercury-emissions-stalk-african-gold-miners.html