The
second Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Cartagena
Protocol on Biosafety (ICCP-2) began its deliberations, as delegates
heard opening statements and considered organizational and
intersessional work. Plenary then addressed agenda items from ICCP-1,
including: information sharing; capacity building; handling,
transport, packaging and identification; and compliance. In the
afternoon, Plenary addressed new items for consideration, including:
liability and redress; monitoring and reporting; Secretariat; guidance
to the financial mechanism; rules of procedure; and consideration of
other issues. Above: Bird's eye view of the ICCP-2 opening plenary.
OPENING
STATEMENTS:
ICCP
Chair Amb. Philémon Yang (Cameroon) (left) welcomed participants and
noted significant progress made in developing key elements of the
pilot phase of the Biosafety Clearing House (BCH), capacity building
and a compliance regime. He highlighted areas requiring further
development, including liability and redress, monitoring and reporting
and the financial mechanism, and stressed that clearly defined
elements would provide incentive for ratification.
Noah Katana Ngala, Minister of Environment of the Republic of
Kenya (left),
emphasized the Protocol's importance in an age of biotechnology that
raises concerns for biosafety in managing organisms and minimizing
possible risks to human health and the environment. He discussed
efforts to produce national guidelines and harmonize regional efforts,
outlined Kenya's biosafety framework and called for continued
cooperation in capacity building and bringing the Protocol into force.
Jorge Illueca, Assistant Deputy Director of UNEP (left),
on behalf of UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer, highlighted
intersessional activities focusing on capacity building and support
for developing national biosafety frameworks held in Cuba in July
2001. He noted the need for national regulatory and institutional
frameworks, as well as timely financial and technical support to
enable them.
CBD
Executive Secretary, Hamdallah Zedan (right), expressed his
appreciation to UNEP and Kenya for hosting ICCP-2, to Denmark, Italy,
Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea,
Sweden and Switzerland, as well as to Canada, Cuba, France, Peru, the
United Kingdom and the US for supporting intersessional activities. He
expressed hope that ICCP-1's "Montpellier Spirit" would continue
and that national ratification processes would be accelerated. Real Audio
of Hamdallah Zedan's opening address
Regional statements were made by BELGIUM, on behalf of the EU; MEXICO
(left), on behalf of GRULAC; ETHIOPIA, on behalf of the African Group;
and INDIA, on behalf of the Asian Group. Delegates underscored, inter
alia, their commitment to ratify the Protocol in due time to
ensure its entry into force by 2002.
An Industry representative noted the benefits of appropriate
application of biotechnology.
Real Audio to follow
Citing a recent example of genetic pollution of a Mexican centre
of origin for maize, an NGO representative underscored the need for a
liability and redress regime and a more precise definition of LMOs for
food, feed or processing.
Real Audio to follow
ORGANIZATIONAL
MATTERS:
Chair
Yang (second from left) introduced the agenda of the meeting (UNEP/CBD/ICCP/2/1).
JAPAN noted that little attention was given to definitions'
clarification. Chair Yang then noted the revised organization of work
(UNEP/CBD/ICCP/2/1/Add.2), which was adopted without comment. François
Pythoud (Switzerland) and Mohammad Reza Salamat (Islamic Republic of
Iran) would continue chairing Working Groups one and two (WG-I and WG-II)
respectively. Antonietta
Gutiérrez Rosati (Peru) would continue serving
as the meeting's Rapporteur.
REPORT
ON INTERSESSIONAL WORK:
The Cyrie Sendashonga (CBD
Secretariat) (left) introduced the report on intersessional
work (UNEP/CBD/ICCP/2/2).
Chair Yang noted that delegates would make comments under
the agenda item on consideration of other matters.
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