UN Chronicle | Treaty on GMOs Enters into Force

Treaty on GMOs Enters into Force
By Annabel Boissonnade-Fotheringham for the Chronicle

Web Article

Palau's ratification to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on 13 June 2003 has triggered the 90-day countdown to the treaty's entry into force, when it became the 50th ratifying Member State necessary to enforce the agreement. The Protocol's entry into force on 11 September will establish norms for the trade of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), while focusing on their transnational movement.

The Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Klaus Toepfer, highlighted transparency as well as safety when dealing with biotechnology. The process of establishing norms for GMOs is aimed at reassuring both the skeptical public and the industry by establishing "important safety measures" for consumers, industry and the environment while rendering its international trade more transparent, he said.

The Cartagena Protocol seeks to highlight the safety of GMO trading activities by providing two sets of procedures: one for genetically modified farm commodities, specifically aimed at the production of food; and the other on GMOs intentionally introduced into the environment.

Some members of the public believe that the human health risks involved in introducing a foreign organism into the environment counters the Protocol's argument that biotechnology is the potential solution to eradicate world poverty and improve environmental degradation.

In response to the much-heated debate on the subject, UNEP, with the help of the Global Environment Facility, is currently managing one of the largest biosafety projects ever undertaken in that field. It aims to assist countries with developing economies by providing them with a cost/benefit analysis of genetically modified crops. This project is of particular importance to the Protocol, Mr. Toepfer said, because the treaty's success depends on the developing countries' skills and systems for "evaluating genetically modified imports and handling them safely".

The first meeting of the parties to the treaty will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during the first quarter of 2004.

Links

Convention on Biological Diversity

Ethics panel addresses biotechnology concerns - FAO

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