Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conclusion of the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which entered into force on 29 December 1993, is today's main international instrument for addressing biodiversity issues. The three objectives pursued by the Convention are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. Biosafety, one of the issues addressed by the Convention, concerns the need to protect human health and the environment from the potential adverse effects of the products of modern biotechnology.

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted on 29 January 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the CBD and entered into force on 11 September 2003. This international treaty provides a framework, based on the precautionary principle, for the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, or pose risks to human health.

Article 27 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety bound the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (COP/MOP) to initiate a process with respect to the elaboration of international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress for damage resulting from transboundary movements of living modified organisms. On 15 October 2010, the final plenary of COP/MOP5 successfully adopted the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

The Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol was signed by the Union on 11 May 2011, subject to its conclusion at a later date. The Supplementary Protocol contributes to the achievement of the objectives of the environmental policy of the Union. It is therefore appropriate that this Supplementary Protocol be concluded on behalf of the Union as soon as possible.

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)236: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:236:FIN

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