By Mohamed Sheriff, Information Attaché | Geneva, Switzerland
Sierra Leone’s Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Madam Mima Yeama Sobba-Stephens, has urged urgent national and global action to tackle plastic pollution. She made the appeal during the Informal Ministerial Roundtable: Challenges at National Level to Address Plastic Pollution, held on August 13, 2025 in Geneva as part of the second segment of the fifth session of the UN Environment Programme’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2), chaired by UNEP Executive Director, Inger Andersen.
The INC-5.2 meeting, which ran from August 5–14, advanced negotiations toward a legally binding international treaty on plastic pollution, with a particular focus on protecting marine ecosystems. The roundtable provided a platform for high-level representatives to share national experiences, discuss policy and technical barriers and explore partnership opportunities.
In her address, Madam Mima Yeama Sobba-Stephens emphasized that the treaty should be globally binding and fully integrated into national legal frameworks to ensure lasting results.
“Sierra Leone remains committed to achieving an outcome that reflects our shared aspirations and delivers tangible benefits for the global community,” she stated, highlighting the country’s active engagement in negotiations despite limited resources.
She also outlined key national actions, including:
- Completing a baseline assessment of marine litter, conducting material flow analysis and carrying out a plastic policy gap analysis which culminated in a strategic roadmap supporting the treaty.
- Introducing a Green Labelling scheme in the hospitality sector to recognize tourism operators who reduce single-use plastics (SUP).
The Deputy Minister called for a treaty that addresses both upstream plastic production and chemical use as well as downstream waste management while considering the unequal capacities of countries.
“Let us work together to deliver an ambitious, inclusive and implementable instrument; one that marks this moment as a historic turning point in the fight against plastic pollution,” she concluded.
In a related engagement, Madam Mima Yeama Sobba-Stephens also took part in the Informal Ministerial Dialogue on Investment Opportunities for a Circular Economy in the Context of the Global Plastic Treaty.
