The sixth meeting of the governing body of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety ended on October 5 with an agreement to advance discussions to clarify socio-economic issues associated with living modified organism (LMOs).
LMO is a term for a wide range of genetically modified organisms.
The discussions are intended to assist Parties to the Protocol that may wish to consider socio-economic factors in reaching decisions on the import of such organisms.
Some 1,500 delegates from more than 100 countries attended the five-day meeting, a released issued here said.
They agreed to convene a group of experts to further clarify the issue of socio-economic considerations and to conduct research and exchange information and experiences on it.
Agreement was also reached on a number of other complex issues, including risk assessment, response actions in event of unintentional movement of LMOs across national borders and types of documentation accompanying shipments of LMOs.
Delegates commended the progress made in the development of "Guidance on Risk Assessment of Living Modified Organisms" by a group of experts and encouraged Parties to test the guidance in actual cases of risk assessment and share their experiences, the release said.
The delegates also agreed on an improved plan of action on capacity-building to support the implementation of the Protocol and adopted further steps to strengthen the Biosafety Clearing House
