Unintentional transboundary movements of LMOs

http://www.biosafety-info.net/article.php?aid=1066

Publication date: April 24, 2014

THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE       We are pleased to share below a submission from Third World Network on the issue of unintentional transboundary movements of living modified organisms (LMOs). Article 17 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety outlines the obligations of Parties in this regard.   The TWN submission highlights important considerations that should be the basis of determining the scope and elements of possible guidance or tools that may facilitate appropriate responses by Parties to unintentional transboundary movements of LMOs.   Considerations for Parties from where unintentional transboundary movements may originate (which could include exporting Parties, and/or Parties that develop and produce or grow LMOs) are:compliance with the domestic regulations of importing Parties’ and those of affected or potentially affected States, including zero tolerance policies for unapproved LMOs; prevention of unintentional transboundary movements at the potential source; segregation, identity preservation and testing; timely notification; and provision of information, detection methods and reference materials.  Considerations for affected or potentially affected States (which could include importing Parties) are: the right to have zero tolerance policies for unapproved LMOs; capacity for sampling, testing and detection; and mechanisms for implementing responses, actions and emergency measures.  The Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (COP-MOP) to the Cartagena Protocol will address this issue at its seventh meeting in September 2014 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Submissions are invited from Cartagena Protocol National Focal Points (or CBD National Focal Points) and relevant organizations, and the deadline for submission is 2 May 2014. The notification is available at http://bch.cbd.int/protocol/e-doc/?notification=2183