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At the centre of a highly emotional
scientific, social and political debate about the pros and cons of modern
biotechnology in 2003, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Box 1),
negotiated under the auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity
and adopted by its Conference of the Parties on 29 January 2000, entered
into force on 11 September 2003
Box 1: The Cartagena Protocol |
The Protocol aims to protect biological diversity from the
potential risks of living modified organisms (LMOs), with
specific focus on transboundary movements, and taking also
into account risks to human health. It makes reference to
the precautionary approach contained in Principle 15 of the
Rio Declaration, and establishes an advance informed agreement
procedure for ensuring that countries are provided with prior
written notification and information necessary to make informed
decisions before agreeing to the first import of LMOs that
are to be intentionally introduced into the environment. It
also establishes a Biosafety Clearing-House to facilitate
the exchange of information and experiences on LMOs, and to
assist countries in implementation.
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| Source: CBD 2003 |
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