World Heritage properties may sustain biological and cultural diversity and provide ecosystem services and other benefits, which may contribute to environmental and cultural sustainability. Properties may support a variety of ongoing and proposed uses that are ecologically and culturally sustainable and which may enhance the quality of life and well-being of communities concerned. The State Party and its partners must ensure their use is equitable and fully respects the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. For some properties, human use would not be appropriate. Legislation, policies and strategies affecting World Heritage properties should ensure the protection of the Outstanding Universal Value, support the wider conservation of natural and cultural heritage, and promote and encourage the effective, inclusive and equitable participation of the communities, indigenous peoplesand other stakeholders concerned with the property as necessary conditions to its sustainable protection, conservation, management and presentation. [Decision 43 COM 11A]

Recognizing that mercury is a chemical of global concern owing to its long-range atmospheric transport, its persistence in the environment once anthropogenically introduced, its ability to bioaccumulate in ecosystems and its significant negative effects on human health and the environment, Recalling decision 25/5 of 20 February 2009 of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to initiate international action to manage mercury in an efficient, effective and coherent manner, Recalling paragraph 221 of the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development “The future we want”, which called for a successful outcome of the negotiations on a global legally binding instrument on mercury to address the risks to human health and the environment, Recalling the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development's reaffirmation of the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, including, inter alia, common but differentiated responsibilities, and acknowledging States' respective circumstances and capabilities and the need for global action, Aware of the health concerns, especially in developing countries, resulting from exposure to mercury of vulnerable populations, especially women, children, and, through them, future generations, Noting the particular vulnerabilities of Arctic ecosystems and indigenous communities because of the biomagnification of mercury and contamination of traditional foods, and concerned about indigenous communities more generally with respect to the effects of mercury, Recognizing the substantial lessons of Minamata Disease, in particular the serious health and environmental effects resulting from the mercury pollution, and the need to ensure proper management of mercury and the prevention of such events in the future, Stressing the importance of financial, technical, technological, and capacity-building support, particularly for developing countries, and countries with economies in transition, in order to strengthen national capabilities for the management of mercury and to promote the effective implementation of the Convention, Recognizing also the activities of the World Health Organization in the protection of human health related to mercury and the roles of relevant multilateral environmental agreements, especially the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal and the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, Recognizing that this Convention and other international agreements in the field of the environment and trade are mutually supportive, Emphasizing that nothing in this Convention is intended to affect the rights and obligations of any Party deriving from any existing international agreement, Understanding that the above recital is not intended to create a hierarchy between this Convention and other international instruments, Noting that nothing in this Convention prevents a Party from taking additional domestic measures consistent with the provisions of this Convention in an effort to protect human health and the environment from exposure to mercury in accordance with that Party's other obligations under applicable international law, Have agreed as follows:

1. The measures in this Article and in Annex C shall apply to artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing in which mercury amalgamation is used to extract gold from ore. 2. Each Party that has artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing subject to this Article within its territory shall take steps to reduce, and where feasible eliminate, the use of mercury and mercury compounds in, and the emissions and releases to the environment of mercury from, such mining and processing. 3. Each Party shall notify the Secretariat if at any time the Party determines that artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing in its territory is more than insignificant. If it so determines the Party shall: (a) Develop and implement a national action plan in accordance with Annex C; (b) Submit its national action plan to the Secretariat no later than three years after entry into force of the Convention for it or three years after the notification to the Secretariat, whichever is later; and (c) Thereafter, provide a review every three years of the progress made in meeting its obligations under this Article and include such reviews in its reports submitted pursuant to Article 21 . 4. Parties may cooperate with each other and with relevant intergov­ernmental organizations and other entities, as appropriate, to achieve the objectives of this Article. Such cooperation may include: (a) Development of strategies to prevent the diversion of mercury or mercury compounds for use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing; (b) Education, outreach and capacity-building initiatives; (c) Promotion of research into sustainable non-mercury alternative practices; (d) Provision of technical and financial assistance; (e) Partnerships to assist in the implementation of their com­mitments under this Article; and (f) Use of existing information exchange mechanisms to promote knowledge, best environmental practices and alternative technologies that are environmentally, technically, socially and economically viable.