The fourth session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee to prepare a global legally binding instrument on mercury (INC4) was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 27 June to 2 July 2012.

At the fourth session, progress was achieved on some elements while divergent views remained on others. Delegates requested the Chair of the committee, working with contact group co-Chairs, to present possible compromise text on elements with diverging opinions for consideration by the committee at its fifth session. The secretariat was tasked with preparing additional documentation, including a draft of the final act that would permit discussion at INC5 on work in the interim period between the adoption of the instrument and its entry into force.