On June 26, the world commemorates the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. In Tanzania, however, such commemorations are likely to be muted. Tanzania is among a small minority of countries that have not signed or ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a United Nations treaty.

In 2012, Mwamini K. a sex worker in Dar es Salaam, was raped at gunpoint by a client who got angry when she asked him to use a condom. She did not report the case to the police nor seek medical assistance because she did not trust that she could get the help that she needed, she told me. (Mwamini’s name, like all others here, has been changed.) Mwamini explained that in 2011, she sought treatment for a sexually transmitted infection at Mwananyamala Hospital. The nurse refused to treat her unless she brought her sexual partner. Mwamini told the nurse that she was a sex worker and did not know who infected her. The hospital turned her away.

This weekend, more than 140 governments agreed on the text for a new legally binding convention on mercury, a highly toxic metal. It has taken three years and many compromises to get here. What often seemed like a dry and bureaucratic process – delegates arguing over nuance during long night sessions – has very real implications for millions of people around the globe.

A proposed international treaty to address the damaging effects of mercury should include specific provisions to protect the health of children and other vulnerable populations, Human Rights Watch said today. Governments are to meet in Geneva beginning January 13, 2013, for a fifth and final round of talks for the treaty. Mercury is a toxic metal that attacks the central nervous system and is particularly harmful to children.