Nairobi — A draft on national legislation on responsibility, response and compensations for losses caused by environment damaging activity is under discussion at the 25th session of the Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environmental Forum (GC/GMEF) of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) taking place in Nirobi, Kenya.

Angola is attending the event with a multi-sectoral delegation headed by the Environment minister, Fátima Jardim, accompanied by the permanent representative to UNEP, ambassador, embaixador Ambrósio Lukoki.

The purpose of the said draft is concerned with the basic problems the member States come across when deciding to draft internal laws and regulations on responsibility and compensations for environment damages.

The document analyses the fundamental elements for their inclusion in national legislations in terms of responsibility and compensations for environmental damages and proposes concrete measures for possible adoption by the makers of the laws.

It is considered that the Project might be useful particularly for developing countries and those with transition economies that might therefore set the marks that would serve as foundations to the legislation or national policy on responsibility and damages.

All and every person, including public authorities, will be entitled to claiming for compensations for death or physical lesions, material damages and economic losses resulting from environment damaging activity, says the source.

Another topic being discussed by the delegates from about 140 countries attending the event, is the establishment of an Inter-Governmental Negotiating Committee, tasked with negotiating the engagement over the use of mercury.

According to a study forwarded by the Zero Mercury Work Group (ZMWG), the use of mercury in the manufacture of products for which there are sustainable alternative substitutes should be brought to an end.

The document alerts that the magnitude of the emissions of mercury resulting from combustion of products with mercury content imposes the need for globally coordinated actions banning their manufacture, sale and use.

The Angolan delegation to the meeting includes the national director of Natural Resources of the Environment Ministry, Soki Kuenda, and high ranking officials of the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Energy.