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This section provides a link to all of the pre-sessional official documents (available in the six UN official languages), the information documents (available in English only) and the notifications by the Executive Secretary to Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations pertaining to the meeting. This section provides a link to all of the pre-sessional official documents (available in the six UN official languages), the information documents (available in English only) and the notifications by the Executive Secretary to Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations pertaining to the meeting.

Home | Meetings | COP8 MOP3 | COP-MOP 3 Home | Press Coverage
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COP-MOP 3 Press Coverage

Monday, March 27, 2006
  'Landmark' decision reached on trade in GM products
  In what the European Union's environment commissioner Stavros Dimas has called a "landmark" decision, 132 countries have agreed rules on the international trade in products containing genetically modified (GM) organisms. The rulings, made at last week's meeting of parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, centre on how such products are labelled.
 
 
Friday, March 24, 2006
  Developing world will struggle to implement GM protocol
  Most developing countries face a struggle to implement a UN agreement on genetically modified organisms due to a lack of personnel, technology and funds, reports SciDev.Net.The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety forms part of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and aims to ensure countries can protect their biodiversity from potential risks of GM organisms. But a conference on the protocol in Curitiba, Brazil, last week, heard a number of senior advisers question whether developing countries can implement the rules effectively.
 
  CONSTRUCTIVE AMBIGUITY SAVES LMO LABELLING DISCUSSIONS AT CARTAGENA PROTOCOL SUMMIT
  Following hours of negotiations, parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety managed to reach an agreement on trade-related documentation requirements for commodity shipments of living modified organisms (LMOs) -- albeit one that was deliberately vague about some contentious issues. These requirements are central to the treaty's goal to protect biological diversity and human health from potential biotech-related risks through regulating the transfer, handling, and use of LMOs. The third Meeting of the Parties (MOP-3) rather quickly resolved the other items on its agenda during its 13-17 March session in Curitiba, Brazil.
 
 
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
  Commercial interests win in the MOP3
  After a week marked by the deadlock of labelling GMO loads, the Cartagen Protocol parties' conference (MOP3) reached a consensus through the proposal of "contains GMOs". The agreement was achieved with the inclusion of an addendum proposed by Mexico, who was blocking the negotiations together with New Zealand and other countries. The result can be considered as a victory by the biotechnology transnationals, seen that the time defined to regulate it was extended from four to six years, and the obligatory identification of GMO exports and imports on the market between members (those who adopted the Protocol) and those non-members (those who haven't adopted the Protocol) was eliminated. This way the final document allows GMO importations from non-signatory countries of the Protocol, such as the USA. The USA, despite his non-ratification of the protocol, has sent a strong delegation to create a lobby of his interests.
 
 
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
  Cereal suppliers cautious over new GM trade rules
  21/03/2006 - The adoption of detailed documentation requirements for genetically modified (GM) food in the international trade of agricultural commodities has been met with caution by grain and cereal importers.
 
  Reaping Biotechnology's Benefits
  Diplomats discussing how to manage the safety agricultural biotechnology might learn a few lessons from their counterparts in health genomics. Government representatives have been meeting in the Brazilian city of Curitiba to determine how to document internationally-traded genetically-modified products. They sought to give effect to the provisions of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety Biosafety Protocol under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
 
  Africa needs technical help to enact GM rules
  Most developing countries will struggle to enact a key UN agreement on genetically modified organisms because they lack the necessary technology and personnel, according to the Science and Development Network. Hartmut Meyer, the biosafety advisor to the German aid agency GTZ, was speaking at the meeting of parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, in Curitiba, Brazil.
 
 
Monday, March 20, 2006
  Cartagena Protocol meeting exceeds expectations
  The outcome of the third meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety exceeded New Zealand's expectations, say Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Environment Minister David Benson-Pope.
 
  Compromise Allows GMO Trade Rules Agreement
  What has been described as a last-minute compromise has allowed agreement to be reached on an international treaty governing trade in genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
 
  Governments adopt international rules on trade in GMOs
  The Third meeting of the 132 Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (MOP3) was concluded on 17 March in Curitiba, Brazil. It adopted a landmark decision on detailed documentation requirements for genetically modified organisms in the international trade of agricultural commodities. In the final hours of negotiations, trade implications of documentation requirements were the main focus of major players such as Mexico and Brazil. The final compromise would have not been possible without the political commitment of the Brazilian government to make MOP3 a success.The European Commission negotiated on behalf of the EU and played an important role in brokering the final compromise.
 
  Biosafety Protocol Alive, but Restricted
  CURITIBA, Brazil, Mar 18 (IPS) - The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety "is alive," celebrated the delegates to the Third Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (MOP3), although there were complaints about and criticism of modifications to the final agreement reached Friday night.
 
  Africa needs technical help to enact GM rules
  [CURITIBA] Most developing countries will struggle to enact a key UN agreement on genetically modified (GM) organisms because they lack the necessary technology and personnel, a conference has heard.
 
 
Friday, March 17, 2006
  Victims of Glyphosate
  CURITIBA, Brazil, Mar 16 (IPS) - The pain and suffering of victims of toxic agrochemicals invaded the international negotiations on biosafety in Curitiba, Brazil this week with the accounts of a Paraguayan mother whose son died from herbicide poisoning and local residents of a neighbourhood in Córdoba, Argentina facing a severe health crisis caused by the fumigation of surrounding fields.
 
  Brazil: GMOs and the Return of the Rainforest
  Against the backdrop of an international conference on biotechnology, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva announced March 15 that the country will strictly label products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
 
  Minister corrects misrepresentations on Protocol
  Environment Minister David Benson-Pope is today correcting misrepresentations of New Zealand’s position on the Cartagena Protocol. “Despite claims to the contrary, New Zealand ratified the Cartagena Protocol on 24 February 2005 and it came into force in May 2005,” said David Benson-Pope.
 
  Clean green image could be wrecked
  GE Free New Zealand are appealing to the New Zealand government to join the rest of the world in supporting the labelling of genetically engineered organisms traded between nations.
 
  Large importers demand identification of transgenics
  Brasília - By backing the detailed identification of transgenic products for export, Brazil is meeting a demand made by social movements that defend environmental security and human health throughout the world, especially in Third World countries.
 
  Terminator seeds must be crushed say Rural Women
  Rural women are urging the Government to drop its support for terminator gene seed trials. Last year New Zealand supported Canada's call to lift the moratorium on field trials. "Terminator technology" makes seed or pollen sterile after the first generation. The issue has arisen again at a Convention on Biological Diversity currently in Brazil.
 
  Rural Women support ban on “Terminator”
  Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) is urging the Government to safeguard New Zealand’s biosecurity along with the livelihoods of millions of farmers in the third world by dropping its support for lifting the moratorium on ‘Terminator’ gene seed trials.
 
  Support for suicide seed alarms GM opponents
  THE Federal Government is pushing to weaken an international moratorium on so-called "terminator technology", a form of genetic engineering that makes harvested seeds sterile.
 
 
Thursday, March 16, 2006
  Minister says that identification of transgenics represents a ''social conquest''
  Curitiba - Brazil will uphold the use of the expression "it contains" for shipments of live, genetically modified organisms, including information referring to the process of production, transportation, and storage, when they are exported to other countries. This position, announced, yesterday (14), at the 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Biosecurity Protocol (MOP3), represents a victory, most of all, for Brazilian society, according to the minister of the Environment, Marina Silva.
 
  Biosafety: To label or not to label....
  On Monday, 13 March the Third Conference on the Biosafety Protocol (MOP3) started in Curitiba, Brazil. The Biosafety Protocol is the only international treaty that sets obligatory rules for the trade with GMOs. (background of COP8/MOP3 meeting) Main issue of this meeting is the question how GMOs have to be labelled (Article 18). Nearly all countries that have signed the biosafety protocol are in favour of a clear labelling that gives information the GMO in a shipment. Industry and countries that haven't signed the Protocol however just want a vague label, sayingthat a shipment "may contain" GMOs - without even stating which GM crop that might be.
 
  Agro-Biotech Giant Syngenta Plants Illegal Genetically Engineered Crop in Brazilian World Heritage Site
  CURITIBA, Brazil - March 15 - Over one thousand farmers occupied the site of an illegal field trial of GE soybeans planted by agro-biotech giant Syngenta in the National Park of Iguacu in Parana, southern Brazil on Tuesday. The site of the illegal trails was occupied by protesting farmers from "Via Campesina" an organisation representing small farmers in the region. Ironically, the illegal crop was planted near to Curitiba, where 132 countries are meeting to agree measures to prevent illegal movement and planting of GE crops and to protect biodiversity - the so-called Biosafety Protocol. Brazilian legislation prohibits the release of GMOs in protected areas and their surroundings
 
  NZ blocking international GE agreement, Greens say
  The Greens are calling for New Zealand to stop being the only country preventing an international agreement on genetically engineered organisms.
 
  Africans missing at key biosafety talks
  [CURITIBA — PANOS] Many African countries are absent from the international Biosafety Protocol meeting in Brazil because they cannot afford to send their delegates to it, with major implications for the meeting’s outcome for all developing countries.
 
 
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
  Global Civil Society Forum mobilizes civil organizations
  Curitiba – Outside the Expo Trade Convention Center, which is holding the 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (MOP-3), approximately 700 members of Brazilian social movements are gathered in the Global Civil Society Forum. This is a parallel event to the MOP-3 and to the 8th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-8), and will end on March 31st.
 
  Mounting concern about NZ stance at biosafety conference
  There is growing concern about the stance New Zealand is taking at a global conference on biosafety in Brazil this week. The Soil and Health Association and the Sustainability Council have criticised New Zealand's opposition in Cartagena Protocol negotiations to the mandatory labelling of anything that may contain living genetically modified organisms.
 
  Terminator techology is expected to be target of protests at conference
  Porto Alegre - A development in the field of transgenic seeds, the "Terminator" techology, is expected to be one of the main targets of protests by international activists who will accompany the 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosecurity and the 8th Conference of the Parties to the Biological Diversity Convention (COP-8).
 
  Le Brésil adopte l'étiquette «contient des OGM»
  Pays hôte, depuis lundi, de la troisième réunion des parties au protocole de Carthagène sur la biosécurité, le Brésil a résolu, in extremis, l'impasse dans laquelle il était plongé et redoré du même coup son blason de «puissance environnementale».
 
  Agricultural biotechnology critical for biodiversity protection
  CURITIBA, Brazil - Agricultural biotechnology is necessary for the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity. As officials from 132 nations meet in Brazil this week for a UN meeting under the Biosafety Protocol, the plant science industry reminds governments of the vital role biotech innovations play in achieving sustainable agriculture and development:
 
  Labeling of transgenic products can hurt the country, the CNA alleges
  Brasília - The proposal to identify transgenic products sold abroad will cause Brazil to lose international competitiveness, according to the National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA). The CNA's vice president of International Affairs, Gilman Viana Rodrigues, calculates that the change will add 10% to the sector's production costs.In the case of soybean exports, for example, producers may end up spending around US$ 1 billion.
 
 
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
  How can we make sure we stay GM free?
  Given that it is a decade since the first GM seeds were sown in the UK, this is an apposite question. Arguably, back then it was easier to express anti-GM sentiments. You merely dressed up in a white boiler suit, ripped up trial sites for GM crops in the dead of night and very likely got arrested.
 
  Brazil Still Has Doubts on Labelling of Transgenic Products
  CURITIBA, Brazil, Mar 13 (IPS) - The third meeting of the parties to the global biosafety treaty kicked off Monday in this southern Brazilian city on a certain note of mystery: the 800 negotiators and observers from 116 countries still have no idea what the host country's position is on the most controversial issue to be negotiated at this gathering: the labelling of transgenic products.
 
  Biosafety meeting discusses labeling of living modified organisms
  Curitiba – One of the main issues to be discussed during the 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol (MOP-3), from March 13-17, in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, will be whether cargos of living modified organisms (LMOs) should be identified or not.
 
  Is NZ a US "stalking-horse" on GE issue?
  Is NZ a US "stalking-horse" on GE issue? New Zealand appears to be a "stalking-horse" for the United States in blocking consensus on the labelling of living GE organisms traded between countries, Greens Environment Spokesperson Nandor Tanczos says.
 
  Bio-Safety Protocol must prevent developing countries, Greenpeace says
  Curitiba, Brazil.– Greenpeace today called upon the representatives of the 132 member states of the International Biosafety Protocol to agree upon reliable and fair standards of identification and labeling of genetically engineered organisms (GMOs) in international shipments of food and feed products.
 
  GE rice found in Heinz baby cereal in China: Greepeace+
  (Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)HONG KONG, March 14_(Kyodo) _ Environmental group Greenpeace said Tuesday one of the best selling baby foods in China, sold by U.S. food giant Heinz, contains genetically engineered rice.
 
  Zimbabwe: GM Crops Beckon As Zimbabwe Seeks Farm Growth
  Farming with GMOs is banned in Zimbabwe, not only because of potential health and environment risks, but also for economic reasons - because the European Union does not import any food containing GMOs.
 
  Tanczos questions NZ stance at biosafety talks
  New Zealand may be fronting for the United States in blocking consensus on the labelling of living genetically engineered organisms traded between countries, Green Party environment spokesman Nandor Tanczos claimed yesterday.
 
  Brazil backs stronger GMO export labeling -ministry
  SAO PAULO, Brazil - Brazilian exports of genetically modified organisms, such as soybeans, will bear the label "contains GMOs" within four years, the environment ministry said late Monday.
 
  Bio-Safety Protocol Must Prevent Developing Countries from Becoming An Illegal GMO Dumping Ground
  CURITIBA - March 13 - Greenpeace today called upon the representatives of the 132 member states of the International Biosafety Protocol to agree upon reliable and fair standards of identification and labelling of genetically engineered organisms (GMOs) in international shipments of food and feed products. (1)
 
  Common Labeling Conflict in Genetically Modified Organisms
  Representatives of 132 countries are convening in Brazil today in order to discuss the rules regarding the consumption of the genetically modified organisms (GMO).
 
  Biotech industry cautions govts that unnecessary GMO regulations will impede trade
  CURITIBA, Brazil - As the 3rd Meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (the Biosafety Protocol) kicks off today, the plant science industry urges governments to finally take a decision on a global documentation system for agricultural biotech products, but warns that unnecessary and costly requirements could severely restrict international trade.
 
  Brazil wants the word "contains" in shipments of transgenic products
  Brasilia – Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA) issued a note informing that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defined this Monday (13), in a meeting at the Planalto Palace, the Brazilian position on the identification rules for exporting or importing shipments of living modified organisms (LMO): he supports the use of the word "contains", plus information on its production process, transportation, and storage.
 
  Brazil backs stronger GMO export labeling -ministry
  SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian exports of genetically modified organisms, such as soybeans, will bear the label "contains GMOs" within four years, the environment ministry said late Monday.
 
 
Monday, March 13, 2006
  Brazil to host biosafety meeting
  Brasília – This week, between March 13 and 17, Brazil will host a meeting of the Protocol of Cartegena on Biosafety, in the city of Curitiba, state of Paraná. The Protocol of Cartagena on Biosafety was drawn up in September 2003, and Brazil became a signatory in February 2004. The protocol is an agreement on biological diversity, the first of its kind, dealing with the secure transport, handling and use of genetically modified living organisms (GMOs). The protocol also establishes rules for international commerce involving GMOs.
 
  World treaty on GMO trade set to spark new tensions
  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe may be on a collision course with its major trading partners as debate heats up over a treaty to regulate the global flow of genetically modified (GMO) foods, largely rejected by Europeans.
 
  Controls 'fail to stop' illegal GM spread
  Systems to prevent genetically modified (GM) crops from pollinating wild relatives or becoming mixed with non-GM food are failing, says a report out this week (8 March).
 
  NZ pursues a GMO export drive?
  Soil & Health will be looking closely at New Zealand’s position during talks in Brazil, to see if New Zealand’s current government is determined to pursue a GMO export drive, as part of NZ’s economic development.
 
  Governments 'fail to halt' GM crops
  London : Systems to prevent genetically modified (GM) crops from pollinating wild relatives or becoming mixed with non-GM food are failing, charged a report out this week.
 
  UN will discuss the environment in events that will be held in Brazil
  Curitiba - Beginning Monday (13), two meetings sponsored by the United Nations (UN) in Curitiba will gather in southern Brazil the largest delegation ever at an international event in the environmental sphere.
 
  NZ: mounting pressure on Government to support GMO labelling
  There is mounting pressure on the Government to push for all food, animal feed and seeds that may contain genetically modified organisms to be labelled when the issue is discussed at a biosafety conference in Brazil next week. A visiting South African farmer and advocate of poor farmers in Africa, Thoko Makhanya, says unlabelled shipments pose a huge threat to countries there.
 
 
Friday, March 10, 2006
  New Forms of GMOs Highlight Biosecurity Loophole
  Threats posed by new forms of GMOs under development represent a fundamental challenge to New Zealand’s approach to biosecurity labelling requirements....When the parties to the Protocol meet again next week, New Zealand has the chance to realign its stance.
 
 
Thursday, March 09, 2006
  UN set to launch year-long reconstruction stage after Pakistani quake
  8 March 2006 – Five months after Pakistan was devastated by an earthquake which killed more than 73,000 people, injured nearly 70,000 and left millions homeless, the emergency aid phase is nearing its end and the United Nations is set to formally launch a year-long recovery and reconstruction stage, humanitarian officials said today.
 
  First contamination report reveals worldwide illegal spread of genetically engineered crops
  The first report into the extent to which genetically engineered organisms have 'leaked' into the environment - released today - reveals a disturbing picture of widespread contamination, illegal planting and negative agricultural side effects....The publication of the report comes only days before the latest meeting of the 132 countries who have signed the Biosafety Protocol (2), which is to establish standards of safety and information of GE crops in global food and feed trade. At their last meeting an imminent agreement was blocked by only two member states, Brazil and New Zealand. They were backed by the major GE exporting countries USA, Argentina and Canada, who are not members of the Protocol and want to restrict required identification to a meaningless note that a shipment "may contain" GE.