September 11, 2008 will mark the fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Over the past five years, more than 140 countries have ratified the Protocol and many of them have embarked on developing legal, administrative and other measures to facilitate the implementation of the Protocol. At the global level, the governing body of the Protocol, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties (COP-MOP), have adopted more than 60 decisions elaborating operational rules, procedures and mechanisms to enable Parties to implement the Protocol. The fifth anniversary presents an opportunity to review the progress, experiences and lessons learned in the implementation of the Protocol, reflect on the challenges encountered and reaffirm the global commitment to ensuring the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms. The theme of the anniversary is: “The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: Five years of global cooperation towards sustainable development”.

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