1.Commends the use of innovative methods under the open-ended online forum on risk assessment and risk management as an efficient means to maximize the use of limited financial resources;

2.Takes note of the conclusions and recommendations of the open-ended online forum and the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Risk Assessment and Risk Management and welcomes the resulting “Guidance on Risk Assessment of Living Modified Organisms” (hereinafter referred to as “the Guidance”);

3.Notes that the Guidance is a document in evolution and that its objective is to provide a reference that may assist Parties and other Governments in implementing the provisions of the Protocol with regards to risk assessment, in particular its Annex III and, as such, this Guidance is not prescriptive and does not impose any obligations upon the Parties;

4.Decides to extend the current open-ended online forum and the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Risk Assessment and Risk Management in accordance with the terms of reference annexed hereto;

5.Urges Parties and invites other Governments and relevant organizations to nominate further experts with experience relevant to risk assessment to the open-ended online forum and to actively participate in the online discussions;

6.Further notes that the first version of the Guidance requires further scientific reviewing and testing to establish its overall utility and applicability to living modified organisms of different taxa introduced into different environments, and requests the Executive Secretary to, prior to the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Risk Assessment and Risk Management, (i) translate the first version of the Guidance into all United Nations languages with a view to enabling a large number of experts to take part in the reviewing process; (ii) coordinate with Parties and other Governments, through their technical and scientific experts, and relevant organizations, a review process of the first version of the Guidance; (iii) make the comments of the review process available through the Biosafety-Clearing House;

7.Requests the Executive Secretary to convene, prior to the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, (i) ad hoc discussion groups and real-time online conferences under the open-ended online forum, and (ii) two meetings of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group, and to compile the views and recommendations submitted by participants in the online forum for consideration by the Parties;

8. Further requests the Executive Secretary to: (i) update the common format for submission of records to the Biosafety Information Resources Centre in order to link its records on risk assessment to specific sections of the Guidance; and (ii) explore possible ways to link background materials available in the “Scientific Bibliographic Database on Biosafety” to specific sections of the Guidance;

9.Requests the Executive Secretary to:

10.Urges Parties and invites other Governments to submit to the Biosafety Clearing-House decisions and risk assessments where potential adverse effects have been identified, as well as any other relevant information that may assist Parties in the identification of living modified organisms or specific traits that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health, including information, if possible, when a decision is not taken due to the potential of a living modified organism to cause adverse effects when introduced into specific environments;

11.Requests the Executive Secretary to compile the information for consideration by the Parties at their sixth meeting;

12.Requests Parties and invites other Governments and relevant organizations to submit to the Executive Secretary (i) information on risk assessments, carried out on a case-by-case basis with regards to the receiving environment of the living modified organism, that might assist Parties in the identification of living modified organisms that are not likely to have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health, and (ii) the criteria that were considered for the identification of such living modified organisms;

13.Requests the Executive Secretary to compile the information received and prepare a synthesis report for consideration by the Parties at their sixth meeting.