On 24 September 2014, a Special High-Level event on the Minamata Convention on Mercury will be held at UN Headquarters in New York in the margin of the 2014 Treaty Event organized by the UN Office of Legal Affairs. Representatives are invited to attend to sign the Convention and, where possible, deposit the instrument of ratification.

On 28 May, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon invited Heads of State and Government to the 2014 Treaty Event, which will be held from 23 to 25 September and from 30 September to 1 October 2014 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. This event will be held concurrently with the General Debate of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly, opening on 24 September. Among 40 multilateral treaties highlighted for the 2014 Treaty Event, the Minamata Convention, as well as the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions are included in the field of the environment. The Secretary-General invited Heads of State and Government to profit from the Treaty Event to sign treaties and deposit instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to the treaties concerned.

Therefore, and to facilitate the signature and ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a Special High-level Event will be held. This event invites representatives to sign the Convention, with the presence of Treaty Section, and where possible, deposit the instrument of ratification. Following the signing ceremony, representatives will be committed to make statements regarding their signature. This event will offer an opportunity to governments to demonstrate their commitment to the Minamata Convention and will be used also as a mean for outreach in order to facilitate rapid entry into force of the Convention. The convention will remain open for signature until 9 October 2014.

For more information about the event, please contact the Interim Secretariat of the Mercury Convention