Nagoya, Japan
12 October, 2010

After more than six years of intense negotiations, Parties to the Biosafety Protocol finalized the negotiation of a new treaty known as the "Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety".

Named after two cities where the final rounds of negotiations were held, the new treaty will establish international rules and procedures for liability and redress in case of damage to biological diversity resulting from living modified organisms.

The text of the Supplementary Protocol was agreed upon a few hours before the opening of the fifth meeting of the COP-MOP by a group of government representatives, known the ―Group of the Friends of the Co-Chairs on Liability and Redress in the Context of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety‖ that was established by the last meeting of the governing body of the Protocol (COP-MOP) in Bonn, Germany. The Group was mandated to undertake further negotiations towards a legally binding instrument on liability and redress and submit its outcomes to the fifth meeting.

In his statement made at the opening of the fifth meeting of the COP-MOP, Mr. Michihiko Kano, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan and host of the meeting, said: "The agreement reached this morning on the contentious and complex issue of liability and redress that had dodged us for more than six years marks a turning point for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The new treaty provides a good opportunity for us to renew our efforts to tackle the global biodiversity challenges in order to protect the life of current and next generations. It is our duty and responsibility to ensure that we pass on to the next generation a wealth of biodiversity and lifestyles that coexist harmoniously with nature".

Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity said: "The agreement to adopt the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress is a major milestone in the global effort to protect life on earth. The unprecedented naming of the new treaty after two cities located in the North and the South sends a clear and strong political message that addressing the challenges facing us today requires a new North South partnership and cooperation and calls for a new way of doing business."

Website: http://www.cbd.int

Published: October 12, 2010