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Opening
Plenary
Opening speeches were heard by (in order of presentation)
ICCP Chair, Ambassador Philémon Yang; the
Mayor of Montpellier, Georges Freche; the Minister of Environment of France,
Dominique Voynet; UNEP Executive Director, Klaus Töpfer ; and CBD Executive
Secretary, Hamdallah Zedan.
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| The
panel (seated left to right) UNEP Executive Director, Klaus Töpfer
; Minister of Environment of France, Dominique Voynet; ICCP
Chair, Ambassador Philémon Yang; CBD Executive Secretary, Hamdallah
Zedan; and the Mayor of Montpellier, Georges Freche, delivered
opening remarks to the morning Plenary in the Berlioz room. |
 ICCP
Chair Amb. Philémon Yang (Cameroon) thanked the French government for
hosting the meeting. He recalled that the Cartagena Protocol was adopted
in Montreal in January 2000 after nearly five years of negotiation, and
recognized the efforts of Veit Koester (Denmark) and Juan Mayr Maldonado
(Colombia), in its completion. He noted the Protocol has been signed by 80
countries and ratified by Bulgaria and Trinidad and Tobago, and called for
a continuation of mutual trust in ensuring its implementation. He then
officially opened the meeting.
Georges
Freche, Mayor of Montpellier, welcomed participants and noted
Montpellier's long history at the crossroads of agronomy and medicine,
which are key areas of biotechnology. He stressed the need to have faith
in a science not deprived of conscience. He expressed his hope that a
Montpellier Statement could be crafted to contribute to this process.
Check back for RealAudio files of
the speeches.
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Dominique
Voynet,
Minister of Environment, France.
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| Dominique
Voynet,
Minister of Environment, France, delivers her address to the Plenary |
The
French Minister of Environment, Dominique Voynet, said that new
biotechnologies bring hopes for the production of therapeutic substances,
and fears of the risk to health and the environment. She contested the
legitimacy of manipulating life-forms when not in the public interest, and
noted public concern over agricultural dependence on a few biotechnology
companies. She highlighted the importance of the Cartagena Protocol for
developing common rules on trade of LMOs, the application of the
precautionary principle and the possibility for developing countries to
make decisions based on scientific expertise. She emphasized the
significance for the EU of identifying and labeling LMOs, and noted that
France would not accept any LMO authorization before traceability systems
are fully implemented. She also noted the urgency of establishing a
liability regime.
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Klaus Töpfer, UNEP Executive Director and Hamdallah Zedan,
CBD Executive Secretary
Executive Director of
UNEP, Klaus Töpfer, described adoption of the Cartagena Protocol as a
milestone event. He emphasized the importance of the Protocol's
provisions on the precautionary approach and capacity building, and
welcomed the GEF Council's approval of $26M to help establish biosafety
systems in over 100 countries. He also highlighted the need for greater
private sector involvement and accountability, and urged countries to
enhance public access to biosafety information.
CBD Executive Secretary Hamdallah Zedan thanked
governments making financial contributions and expressed hope that the
Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH) should be launched no later than the
Protocol's entry into force.
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| UNEP
Executive Director, Klaus Töpfer and CBD Executive Secretary,
Hamdallah Zedan (right) pause en route to afternoon meetings
following lunchtime press conferences and side events. |
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Third
World Network:
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| Guest
speaker, ICCP Chair, Ambassador Philémon Yang, (left) assured
NGOs and civil society of their place in the negotiations. Lim
Li Lin (center) and Gurdial Singh Nijar (right), Third
World Network, presented issues related to Protocol compliance. |
Chee Yoke Ling, Third World Network, chaired the side event.
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Relevant
Information:
Past
IISD Coverage:
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