Cartagena Protocol

International agreement setting out rules on the transboundary movement of living modified organisms that are legally binding under international law.

The Protocol was adopted in Montreal in January 2000 following several rounds of negotiation. It is known as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety after the place at which the last round of negotiations was held. The Protocol came into force in September 2003 once it had been ratified by 50 states. 132 states have now recognised the Protocol. Those who have not signed include some countries with high levels of agricultural exports, such as the USA, Argentina, Australia and Canada.

The Protocol is a supplement to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity signed in Rio in 1992. It contains measures to protect genetic resources from the potential risks that might be posed by the release of genetically modified organisms. The negotiating partners of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety were the states that ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (Conference of the Parties). 

At the heart of the Cartagena Protocol is a special information and decision-making process (Advanced Informed Agreement Procedure) to be followed in the event that living modified organisms are to be exported to another country in order to be released into the environment. The exporting nation is obliged to make available to the importing country all the information necessary for a safety assessment.

A Clearing House has been set up at international level to organise the information flow agreed in the Cartagena Protocol.