{"id":4526,"date":"2022-04-15T09:25:49","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T07:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stop-genedrives.eu\/?p=4526"},"modified":"2022-04-29T13:54:51","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T11:54:51","slug":"uncbd_geneva_march2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stop-genedrives.eu\/en\/uncbd_geneva_march2022\/","title":{"rendered":"International negotiations on Gene Drives resume in person"},"content":{"rendered":"

15.04.22, Berlin <\/span>–The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD) and its sub-protocols are the world’s most important forums for establishing internationally binding regulations for Gene Drive technology. For the first time since the beginning of the COVID pandemic – after more than two years of repeated postponements and online meetings – government officials, civil society, scientists and business lobbyists met in person to resume international negotiations in Geneva (Switzerland) between 14-29 March 2022. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

During the two and a half conference weeks\u00a0 three different committees discussed a broad range of issues that had previously only been discussed i<\/span>n several online meetings.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the centre\u00a0 of the Geneva meetings were negotiations of the so-called Post 2020 <\/span>Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)<\/b> to stop and reverse global biodiversity loss through a shared set of goals and measures by 2050. This agreement will be finalized and voted on at the 15th meeting of the Parties (COP 15) of the UN CBD now scheduled to be held in Kunming, China, in August 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

Global Biodiversity Framework, Target 17 – Preventing harm from biotechnologies<\/b><\/h1>\n

With regard to the regulation of biotechnologies such as Gene Drives, discussions around Target 17 were of particular relevance. <\/b>This target is meant to strengthen measures to protect biodiversity from risks and negative impacts emerging from the use of biotechnologies. The Stop Gene Drive Campaign, as part of a group of like-minded civil society organizations named the <\/span>CBD Alliance<\/span><\/a>, called for a process to anticipate future technological developments, monitor emerging (bio-)technologies and enable the regulation of these biotechnologies to prevent any harmful impacts. The group also stressed the need to uphold the rights of potentially affected indigenous peoples and local communities – especially the right to say no to the use of biotechnologies that could negatively affect their lands, territories and waters. These rules should also stipulate how damage that nonetheless occurs should be compensated for.<\/span><\/p>\n

While parties\u00a0 such as Bolivia, Ethiopia and Mexico asked for these elements to be included in the text, other parties, most prominently\u00a0 Brazil, tried to undermine the purpose of this target by including text on the potential benefits that biotechnologies could have for biodiversity. While the CBD Alliance called to monitor a broad range of technologies under this target – some parties wanted to narrow down the types of technologies to be covered by including very specific definitions. This is the <\/span>report of co-leads of contact group 4<\/b><\/a> that reflects among other <\/span>these diverse inputs<\/span><\/a> to the discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n

SBSTTA – Agenda items 4 and 5: Assessing Gene Drive technology <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

While discussions around the GBF were mostly held by a committee called the \u2018<\/span>Open Ended Working Group\u2019<\/b> Geneva also hosted the meeting of an advisory body to the CBD called \u2018<\/span>Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical Technological Advice\u2019 (SBSTTA) <\/b>that<\/span> discusses general and long-standing issues under the Convention on Biological Diversity and prepares texts to be adopted by the COP. <\/span>\u00a0<\/b>Some of them are of particular interest with regard to regulating Gene Drive technology:<\/span><\/p>\n