Middle East | COVID-19 and New Legal Regulations

KSA

KSA: Health conditions for workers’ accommodations considering the spread of the Coronavirus

In compliance with order number 47841 dated 8/12/1414, the sanitary requirements for workers’ homes within the construction are renewed, to meet the current needs due to the coronavirus. The renewal of the location and construction requirements among other things has been carried out, and their immediate application is requested to preserve general health.

Source: https://www.momra.gov.sa/

Qatar

Qatar Joins the Minamata Convention on Mercury

The Secretariat of the Minamata Convention on Mercury has announced on its official website that, on the 4th of November, the State of Qatar officially joined the Minamata Convention on Mercury, as a State Party, becoming member no. 125 of this convention.

It should be mentioned that the Minamata Convention is an international treaty of the United Nations Environment Program. It aims at protecting human health from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The Convention was agreed upon and signed in 2013, then entered into force on the 16th of August 2017 in Geneva. It was named after the Japanese city of Minamata, located on island of Kyushu in southern Japan, whose citizens were exposed in May 1956 to a serious contamination of the waters of Minamata Bay as a result of the release of methylmercury into the water from a Chisso Corporation factory. The incident led to mercury accumulating in fish and shellfish and transferring to food, which caused poising and death of hundreds. In addition, more than 200,000 people suffered from chronic disease for the rest of their lives.

Source: http://www.mme.gov.qa/

UAE

UAE: New Regulations on pesticides

What type of pesticides are subject to this regulation?

The objective of this standard is to establish the framework of action to achieve a sustainable use of phytosanitary products by reducing the risks and effects of the use of phytosanitary products on human health and the environment, and promoting the management integrated pest and alternative approaches or techniques, such as non-chemical methods. On the other hand, its come to develop of regulatory relating to the marketing, use and rational and sustainable use of plant protection products, established by the basic regulations from Federal levels.

Source: https://www.moccae.gov.ae/