TIME TO TAKE ACTION AT BIOSAFETY NEGOTIATIONS

27 January 2000

AMSTERDAM/MONTREAL -- Greenpeace today urged the US and Canada to stop their obstruction of the UN Biosafety negotiations and agree with the majority of countries to set up international rules to control genetically engineered organisms (GMOs). Activists dressed as butterflies stood behind a wall symbolising the obstruction and held a banner demanding, "US and Canada stop blocking Biosafety!". The butterflies, portraying the unintended victims of GE crops urged the delegates to ignore the demands of the US and Canadian-led 'Miami group' and take the decision millions of citizens world-wide expect them to take.

"The 50 environment ministers starting the meeting today need to break the barrier erected by the US and Canada and get the job done," said Benedikt Haerlin of Greenpeace.

According to Greenpeace, a failure in Montreal could not only threaten the environment but also the world’s food security. "The lack of international regulation on GMOs would result in a plethora of national legislation inconsistent with each other, possibly including protectionist and retaliatory measures," added Haerlin. "Not even US and Canadian trade and industry interests would gain from it."

The 'Miami group' still insists that genetically engineered food crops, which represent over 95 per cent of all GMOs traded world-wide, be excluded from the Protocol. The group also insists that World Trade Organisation rules should supersede the Protocol's regulations and it continues to block adequate measures on labelling and traceability of GMOs. Furthermore, the group rejects the use of the precautionary principle, which has become a standard in international environmental law.

"The Biosafety discussions have so far taken more than two years without any consensus between the six rogue nations of the Miami Group and the rest of the world,” said Haerlin. "In all democratic processes there is a time for discussion, but there is also a time for decision making. We have talked long enough. Now is the time to make these decisions and finalise the Protocol, even without the Miami group if necessary."