Article 19.3 of the Convention on Biological Diversity establishes the need to create a legally compelling instrument, which includes the concept of advanced informed agreement (AIA), to regulate the transfer, handling, and use of "living modified organisms" (LMOs) produced by modern biotechnology that could have an adverse effect in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Thus the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention (COP I), held in Nassau, Bahamas, in 1994, established a Group of Experts to study the formalities of such a protocol. This group met in Cairo in 1995, and subsequently the second Conference of the Parties in Jakarta, held in 1995, established an ad hoc working group of open composition, which, based on the recommendations of the Cairo Group of Experts, was charged to define the terms of a protocol restricted to the transboundary movement of LMOs.
The open-composition ad hoc group held five meetings between 1996 and 1998 in Aarhus, Denmark (1996) and, Montreal, Canada (May and October 1997, February and August 1998) in preparation for the recent session in Cartagena, Colombia (February 14–19, 1999), where it was intended that a protocol would be ratified. The plan had been to follow the Cartagena gathering by an extraordinary session of the Conference of the Parties of the Protocol at which the protocol was to be officially adopted in order to open it for formal signing by all countries within three months. Yet despite the enormous effort expended during almost five years of often tortuous discussions and always difficult negotiations, there remained so many unresolved issues and sharp disagreements that the Biosafety Protocol (BSP) was not adopted, and the delegates agreed to suspend the anticipated first extraordinary session of the Conference of the Parties.
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