September 11, 2013 marks the 10th anniversary
of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety Ten years ago, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the
Convention on Biological Diversity entered into force, establishing an international
commitment to ensure the safe handling, transfer and use of living modified organisms
(LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology. Today over 165 countries are
Parties to the Protocol, which is one of the fastest growing
treaties of the United Nations. As a result, in countries
across the world, practical steps have been taken to
establish functional biosafety systems. To meet their obligations
under the Protocol, many Parties are building capacity through
various collaborative activities at all levels. Moldova benefited from
several UNEP-GEF projects. I would like to mention, for example,
the development of the NBFs project and the concept of the national biosafety
frameworks as has been approved and developed. Also, the national country project
of the implementation of NBFs as well as BCH I and BCH II
gave the opportunity to Moldova to develop institutional and
regulatory frameworks in Moldova and to have considerable
inputs to promote a mechanism for public information and participation
through the decision making process. Many countries have participated
in the UNEP-GEF biosafety projects in their efforts to develop and implement
their national biosafety frameworks comprising regulatory regimes
and administrative systems. This would include systems to
conduct risk assessments of LMOs. Risk assessment of LMOs in the European Union is
carried out according to the EU biosafety legislation and the relevant guidelines
developed by EU institutions like the European Food Safety
Authority (the so-called EFSA). This risk assessment framework, although it is more
detailed than the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, follows the principles laid down in Art.
15 and Annex III of the Protocol. Countries are also increasingly sharing
their biosafety information through the information-sharing facility under the Protocol
known as the Biosafety Clearing-House. Since its establishment,
the BCH Pilipinas, through the cooperation of our
Competent National Authorities, has been continuously
providing in a timely manner, accurate and updated information on pertinent laws, regulations, and
summaries of risk assessments and decisions made by our country
on the use of GMOs for food, feed and processing. In addition, up-to-date information on experts
in the fields of biosafety and biotechnology, as well as activities to promote biosafety as
implemented by the government and other institutions and organizations, are also
provided for in the BCH. The national nodes of the BCH and
the Central Portal of the BCH are used to facilitate the exchange of scientific,
technical, environmental and legal information on LMOs. Countries are also actively promoting awareness-raising
and public consultation on biosafety issues. Liberia has had some successes in promoting
public awareness, education and participation concerning living
modified organisms. We have reached out to a big cross section
of the public, including local communities, secondary schools, colleges and
universities, the media as well as farmers. We have done so through a variety of
communication channels, including radio talk shows, newspapers, stakeholder
workshops, video shows and publications. The success we have had in
Liberia so far is largely due to the communication strategy that
we developed earlier in the process. Developing and implementing
a communication strategy is essential to promote public awareness, education
and participation, including access to information. An adequately informed public will then be able to make informed
choices and take actions on imports and exports of LMOs. Countries are increasingly also shipping LMOs that are
accompanied by documents clearly identifying these organisms Since 2003, our Ministry of Agriculture signed a trilateral arrangement under Art.
14 of the Protocol, for the import of LMOs with its NAFTA partners. It mainly consists of adding the phrase “may contain LMOs” to
the official importing documentation, with a threshold of 5%. Parties are also establishing national and
regional standards to identify shipments of LMOs. Under the Protocol, countries have
agreed to a supplementary treaty, the Nagoya Kuala-Lumpur Supplementary
Protocol on Liability and Redress. This treaty sets out response measures to
be taken in the event of potential damage caused by LMOs that are moved
across national borders. I want to invite all Parties to the Biodiversity
Convention and to the Cartagena Protocol to ratify the Nagoya Kuala –
Lumpur Supplementary Protocol. It was a very carefully
drafted legal instrument that was able to gather the different positions
to bring us together as the international community
for one common purpose. The difference between this instrument and
maybe other legal instruments is that it really reflects the
results of the negotiations. There were years of discussions that
were reflected accurately in the text and it was very satisfactory to
find out that all Parties involved were happy with the results. Parties to the Cartagena Protocol are in the process
of ratifying and promoting the Supplementary Protocol which will enter into force once
40 countries have ratified it. The Executive Secretary of the
Convention on Biological Diversity is also encouraging us to take further
measures to ensure biosafety. We have certainly
come a long way. But for the Protocol to work
– to be fully effective – we need a better understanding
among all stakeholders on how the Protocol works and
contributes to sustainable development. The Protocol needs all
of us as ambassadors to spread the message of the
Protocol’s contribution to the conservation and sustainable
use of biological diversity. To that end, I urge all countries to help showcase
the Protocol’s success and lessons learned as portrayed in the theme
of this anniversary: 10 Years of Promoting Safety
in the Use of Biotechnology.