Notification 2019-095

Dear Madam/Sir, In decision CP-9/13 (https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cp-mop-09/cp-mop-09-dec-13-en.pdf), the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol decided to establish an ad hoc technical expert group (AHTEG) on risk assessment and to extend the online forum on risk assessment and risk management to assist the AHTEG. I am pleased to confirm that the open-ended online forum on risk assessment and risk management is scheduled to take place from 20 to 31 January 2020 through the Biosafety Clearing-House. Drafts of the studies informing the application of annex I of decision CP-9/13 to living modified organisms containing engineered gene drives and living modified fish are expected to be made available for the online forum. As well, a face-to-face meeting of the AHTEG on risk assessment is scheduled to be held from 31 March to 3 April 2020 at the offices of the Secretariat, in Montreal, Canada. Accordingly, I am pleased to invite Parties, other Governments, relevant organizations and indigenous peoples and local communities to nominate experts to participate in the online forum on risk assessment and risk management and in the AHTEG on risk assessment. Cartagena Protocol National Focal Points or Heads of organizations, as appropriate, may submit nominations in the form of an official letter via e-mail to secretariat@cbd.int. Nominations should include a completed nomination form available at https://bch.cbd.int/forum/risk_assessment/nomination_form_rarm.doc, as well as the curriculum vitae (CV) of the expert. The forum is open to all interested participants, however, please note that participants that were nominated for previous online discussions in the forum, who wish to continue to participate, must be re-nominated. Nominations to the AHTEG should also include a completed interest disclosure form (Available at: https://www.cbd.int/doc/forms/conflict-interest-form-en.pdf) as per decision 14/33 (https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-14/cop-14-dec-33-en.docx). The Executive Secretary, in consultation with the Bureau of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, will select experts from the nominations submitted, taking into account their expertise and with due regard to geographical representation and gender balance, and following the procedure for avoiding or managing conflicts of interest as set out in the annex to decision 14/33. Please note that nominees for the AHTEG are expected to actively participate in the online forum. For both the Forum and the AHTEG, only complete nominations including all the information set out above will be considered. In order to enable the Secretariat to finalize arrangements in time, nominations of experts for the forum and the AHTEG should be submitted as soon as possible, but no later than 6 December 2019. When submitting nomination(s), please clearly indicate, for each of the nominees included in your letter, if it is for the online forum or the AHTEG or both, and take into account the requirements stated above for the nominations to be complete. More information on the 2019-2020 intersessional activities on risk assessment is available online: http://bch.cbd.int/onlineconferences/forum_ra.shtml. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: Cartagena Protocol National Focal Points, relevant organizations, indigenous peoples and local communities, cc: SBSTTA National Focal Points, CBD National Focal Points