National Workshop on Strengthening the Elimination of Mercury-added Skin-lightening Products in Sri Lanka
The workshop was organized on 2 June 2025 in Colombo, bringing together participants from Sri Lanka Customs, the Central Environmental Authority, the Consumer Affairs Authority, the Atomic Energy Board, the Ministry of Health, and other key agencies. Titled National Training on Strengthening Country-Level Inter-Agency Coordination on Trade of Mercury, the workshop was co-organized by the Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO), the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), and the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT RRC.AP).
The training responded to the growing threat of mercury trafficking and the continued illegal trade of mercury-added products including skin-lightening products, despite bans under the Minamata Convention. The workshop emphasized the critical role of customs and environmental authorities in enhancing enforcement and border controls through improved coordination and technical training.
Sessions covered practical aspects of mercury trade enforcement, including shipment profiling, customs inspection, use of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers, and case studies. Presentations by UNEP, WHO, WCO, and national institutions highlighted gaps in enforcement, data sharing, and surveillance capacity. Hands-on exercises provided real-time experience in mercury detection, seizure handling, and inter-agency response planning.
The training concluded with a consensus on the importance of formalizing inter-agency coordination mechanisms, scaling up technical capacities, and strengthening post-market surveillance and consumer protection measures. ??
The workshop was organized on 2 June 2025 in Colombo, bringing together participants from Sri Lanka Customs, the Central Environmental Authority, the Consumer Affairs Authority, the Atomic Energy Board, the Ministry of Health, and other key agencies. Titled National Training on Strengthening Country-Level Inter-Agency Coordination on Trade of Mercury, the workshop was co-organized by the Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO), the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), and the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT RRC.AP).
The training responded to the growing threat of mercury trafficking and the continued illegal trade of mercury-added products including skin-lightening products, despite bans under the Minamata Convention. The workshop emphasized the critical role of customs and environmental authorities in enhancing enforcement and border controls through improved coordination and technical training.
Sessions covered practical aspects of mercury trade enforcement, including shipment profiling, customs inspection, use of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers, and case studies. Presentations by UNEP, WHO, WCO, and national institutions highlighted gaps in enforcement, data sharing, and surveillance capacity. Hands-on exercises provided real-time experience in mercury detection, seizure handling, and inter-agency response planning.
The training concluded with a consensus on the importance of formalizing inter-agency coordination mechanisms, scaling up technical capacities, and strengthening post-market surveillance and consumer protection measures. ??
The kNOwWaste Knowledge Platform was developed through a Project Cooperation Agreement funding by UNEP on 2016. The platform provides data and information on holistic waste management to stakeholders in Asia and the Pacific region. The platform was developed with the following aims: generate and consolidate data or information on holistic waste management, transform data into easily comprehensible outputs for use by key stakeholders, map out and disseminate information on international waste management projects under the GPWM and UNEP projects as well as other international partners, and provide capacity building support through dissemination of data or information support for relevant stakeholders on holistic waste and waste management system.
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