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The Cartagena Protocol entered into force on 11 September 2003 .
The I. R. of Iran has signed the Protocol on 23 April 2001,
and ratified it on 20 November 2003.
The Protocol will enter into force for the I. R. of Iran on 18 February 2004.
After more than five years of difficult negotiations, delegates representing 133 governments adopted in Montreal the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in the early morning hours of 29 January 2000. The Protocol was adopted at the resumed session of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (ExCOP) and is a supplementary agreement to the Convention.
The Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology. It addresses the transfer of LMOs from one country to another through an Advance Informed Agreement (AIA) procedure for ensuring that countries are provided with the information necessary to make informed decisions before agreeing to the import of such organisms into their territory. It also establishes an alternative procedure for LMO commodities (LMOs intended for direct use as food or feed, or for processing).
It contains other provisions on types of information to be provided, scientifically-based risk assessment, simplified procedures, exchange of information, handling of confidential information, public awareness and participation, capacity building for developing countries, financial resources as well as other points on accompanying documentation, liability and redress and socio-economic considerations.
The final agreement reached in Montreal reflects a remarkable compromise and has the potential to break new ground in a number of areas. For example, it enshrines the "precautionary approach" as a principle of international environmental law and puts environment on a par with trade-related issues in the international area.
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