Notification 2008-002

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to inform you that the fifth meeting of the Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on Liability and Redress in the Context of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (WG-L&R 5) will be held in Cartagena, Colombia, from 12 to 19 March 2008, following the generous offer made by the Government of Colombia to host it and with financial support from the Netherlands, the European Community and Austria. You will find the provisional agenda, its annotations and the working document for the meeting posted on the Secretariat’s website at www.cbd.int/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=BSWGLR-05. I am also pleased to convey herewith a letter from the Co Chairs of the Working Group regarding the organization of the meeting, including, in particular, the arrangement of bilateral consultations with them before and during the meeting. The Secretariat would like to invite you to kindly inform us, through a formal letter of nomination addressed to the Executive Secretary, of the name(s) and coordinates of your officially designated representative(s) to the meeting at your earliest convenience, but no later than 15 February 2008. The Secretariat will extend funding to support the participation of one representative from each of the eligible Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Such support is, however, subject to the availability of adequate funds through contributions to the Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BI) established by decision BS-I/10 for facilitating participation of Parties in the Biosafety Protocol process. To enable the broadest possible participation in the meeting, the Secretariat would urge all Parties in a position to do so to contribute to the Special Voluntary Fund in the coming weeks. In the case of Parties eligible for funding and nominating more than one participant, please clearly indicate who will be your country’s official representative eligible for funding from the Secretariat. In view of the budget constraints, and in order to support the participation of as many Parties as possible, the Secretariat will, following the usual practice, be using special airfare tickets for sponsored delegates, which may restrict the possibility of making subsequent changes in the passenger’s name, travel dates and itinerary. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: Cartagena Protocol National Focal Points, CBD National Focal Points (where CPB National Focal Points have not yet been designated), Relevant Organizations