Recalling Article 23 of the Protocol
and
decision
BS-II/13 on public awareness and participation,
Welcoming the progress made by
Parties and relevant organizations towards the implementation of
Article 23 of the Protocol,
Recallingdecision
BS-IV/17 that decided to develop a programme of work on public
awareness, education and participation concerning the safe
transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms, with
specific operational objectives, scope of activities and outputs
and modalities of implementation,
Recalling the request for the
Executive Secretary to prepare, taking into account submissions
made by Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations, a
programme of work on public awareness, education and participation
concerning the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified
organisms,
Recognizing the need for a cohesive
and focused approach to public awareness, education and
participation concerning the safe transfer, handling and use of
living modified organisms,
Recognizing also the central role of
the Biosafety Clearing-House in promoting public awareness,
education and participation,
1.Adopts the programme of work on public
awareness, education and participation concerning the safe
transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms, as
contained in the annex to the present decision, to facilitate
implementation of Article 23 of the Protocol;
2.Invites Parties, other Governments and
relevant organizations, as appropriate, to make use of the
programme of work to implement Article 23 of the Protocol and share
their experiences and lessons learned through the Biosafety
Clearing House;
3.Underlines the importance of ensuring
coherence among the programme of work and relevant activities of
the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public
Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in
Environmental Matters and other relevant conventions and
organisations to maximize opportunities for cooperation in the
promotion of public awareness, education and participation
concerning living modified organisms;
4.Decides, in the light of experiences gained
by the Parties, to review the programme of work at its eighth
meeting, within the available resources;
5.Urges developed country Parties and other
Governments and relevant organizations to provide additional
support to developing country Parties and Parties with economies in
transition to implement relevant activities contained in the
programme of work;
6.Encourages Parties to establish or make use
of existing advisory committees on public awareness, education and
participation concerning living modified organisms to provide
advice and guidance on the implementation of the programme of
work;
7.Invites the Executive Secretary to establish
an online forum and other appropriate means to facilitate exchange
of information and experiences on the implementation of the
programme of work.