Information

MOP 6 Decision BS-VI/8

BS-VI/8.Handling, transport, packaging and identification of living modified organisms (Article 18)

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,
Recalling its decisions BS-I/6, BS-III/8, BS-IV/8 and BS-V/9,
Noting the ongoing cooperation between the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and international organizations whose work is relevant to the handling, transport, packaging and identification of living modified organisms further to decision BS-II/6,
1.Urges Parties to expedite the implementation of their biosafety regulatory frameworks and make available to the Biosafety Clearing-House any laws, regulations and guidelines for the implementation of the Protocol and any changes to their regulatory requirements related to the identification and documentation of living modified organisms destined for contained use or living modified organisms for intentional introduction into the environment;
2.Requests Parties and encourages other Governments to continue to implement the requirements of paragraphs 2(b) and 2(c) of Article 18 of the Protocol and related decisions through the use of a commercial invoice or other documents required or utilized by existing documentation systems, or documentation required by domestic regulatory and/or administrative frameworks;
3.Requests the Executive Secretary to include a specific question in the report form for the third national reports inquiring whether Parties require identification information to be provided in existing types of documentation or in a stand-alone document or both;
4.Invites Parties, other Governments, and relevant international organizations to cooperate with and support developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition to build capacity to implement the detection and identification requirements of paragraphs 2(b) and 2(c) of Article 18 of the Protocol and related decisions, including by facilitating the transfer of technology;
5.Encourages the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to renew efforts to develop unique identification systems for living modified micro-organisms and animals, further to paragraph 3 of section C of decision BS-I/6;
6.Encourages Parties and invites other Governments to support, in meetings of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organization, the request of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity for observer status in the Committee;
7.Requests the Executive Secretary to:
(a)Continue collaborating with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on the International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health;
(b)Further examine the potential gaps and inconsistencies identified in the study commissioned under paragraph 1 (d) of decision BS-V/9 (UNEP/CBD/BS/COP-MOP/6/INF/24) and provide recommendations, as appropriate, to the seventh meeting of the Parties to the Protocol.
BS-VI/7 BS-VI/9