About the Protocol

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty that governs the movement from one country to another of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnologies. It was adopted on January 29, 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity and entered into force on September 11, 2003.

Divisions

• Introduction
• Story
• The CPIC process
• Coming into force
• Cartagena Protocol Timeline

Introduction

On January 29, 2000, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a supplementary agreement to the Convention known as the Protocol to Cartagena on the prevention of biotechnological risks. The Protocol aims to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnologies. It establishes an Advance Informed Agreement (APA) procedure to ensure that countries receive the necessary information to enable them to make informed decisions before agreeing to import such organisms into their territory. The Protocol contains references to a precautionary approach and reaffirms the precautionary language enshrined in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The Protocol also establishes a Biosafety Clearing-House to facilitate the exchange of

Story

In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 19 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Conference of the Parties, in its decision II/5, established an Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Biosafety to prepare a draft protocol on biodiversity, focusing specifically on the transboundary movements of any living modified organism resulting from modern biotechnologies which could have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

The Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Biosafety met six times between July 1996 and February 1999. In its conclusion, the Working Group presented a draft text of the Protocol, together with the main concerns of the Parties, for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its first extraordinary meeting, convened for the purpose of adopting a biosafety protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

In accordance with decision IV/3, the first extraordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties was opened on 22 February 1999, in Cartagena, Colombia. The Convention Parties were unable to complete their work in the time available. Accordingly, by decision EM-I/1, the Conference of the Parties suspended its first extraordinary meeting and agreed that it would reconvene as soon as possible and, in any event, no later than the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

The resumed meeting was held in Montreal from January 24 to 29, 2000 and was preceded by informal regional and inter-regional consultations from January 20 to 23, 2000, at the same headquarters. On 29 January 2000, the Conference of the Parties, in its decision EM-I/3, adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity and approved the interim agreements pending of its entry into force. It established an Ad Hoc Open-ended Intergovernmental Committee for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CIPC) which will undertake the necessary preparations for the first meeting of the Parties to the Protocol.

The CPIC process

The Intergovernmental Committee of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (ICPC) was established by decision EM-I/3 adopting the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to ensure the necessary preparations for the first meeting of the Parties to the Protocol.

Following its establishment, the ICPC convened an organizational meeting on January 29, 2000, chaired by Ambassador Yang of Cameroon, and elected a bureau to oversee its activities. The elected officers were: Cameroon (Chair), Denmark, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Peru, Poland, Saint Kitts and Nevis, South Africa, Switzerland and Ukraine. At the first ICPC meeting, Denmark was replaced by France. The first task of the Bureau was to define a work plan for the ICCP, which was submitted to the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, which approved it in May 2000.

The CIPC met three times between 2000 and 2003. The first meeting (CIPC 1) was held from December 11 to 15, 2000 in Montpellier, France; the second meeting (CIPC 2) was held from 1 to 5 October 2001 in Nairobi, Kenya; and the third meeting (ICPC 3) was held from 22 to 26 April 2002 in The Hague, the Netherlands, in conjunction with the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

The ICPC Board has held more than 10 management meetings over its four-year period. The ICPC submitted its final report to the first meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, which was held February 23-27, 2004 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Coming into force

The Protocol entered into force on September 11, 2003, ninety days after the deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification. In accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 29 of the Protocol, the COP to the Convention sits as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (COP-MOP), the governing body of the Protocol. An overview of COP-MOP activities is provided on the COP-MOP Meetings page.

To download

For more information on the protocol:

Download the document: The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

  http://bch.cbd.int/protocol/background/