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These beauty standards not only cause societal and psychological harm to the consumer’s health and wellbeing but, due to the prevalence of mercury and other harmful chemicals in many SLPs, they present serious health risks, not only to the user, but also to those living in the same dwelling due to physical contact as well as mercury's ability to easily vaporize and spread within the home. [...] The proposed African Amendment to the Convention Despite the Convention’s ban on the manufacture and trade of mercury-added SLPs, our data, along with many other studies conducted throughout the world, demonstrate the continued proliferation and global availability of mercury-added SLPs worldwide. [...] This amendment is designed to complement and strengthen the existing provisions of the Convention, and will require Parties to take additional measures to reduce the availability of mercury-added SLPs including: Prohibiting the manufacture and trade of "mercury-added cosmetics", which would replace the current language that bans cosmetics containing “over 1 ppm mercury.” Curtailing the merchandisi. [...] Finally, the amendment would help complement and strengthen the current treaty, close loopholes that allow advertising, display and indiscriminate sales of mercury- added SLPs, and reflect a willingness to drive the change envisioned by the Convention to “Make Mercury History”. [...] Cover design: Mario Cecilia, European Environmental Bureau Funded by: Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) via the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) The Sills Family Foundation The LIFE programme of the European Union This communication reflects the views and findings of the authors and analysts, and not necessarily those of the funders.