INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO THE NAGOYA-KUALA LUMPUR SUPPLEMENTARY PROTOCOL ON LIABILITY AND REDRESS

摘要

On October 15, 2010, States celebrated the adoption of the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress ("Supplementary Protocol"). The protocol was negotiated to harmonize the international liability and compensation frameworks applicable to environmental and human health risk from living modified organisms (LMOs). The Supplementary Protocol was in direct response to Article 27 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity. As an extension of the Cartagena Protocol, the Supplementary Protocol builds on existing international environmental law principles, including Principle 13 of the Rio Declaration, which urges States "to develop further international law regarding liability and compensation for adverse effects of environmental damage caused by activities within their jurisdiction or control to areas beyond their jurisdiction." While the Cartagena Protocol lays the framework for the safe handling, transport, and use of LMOs by establishing international procedures for regulating the import and export of LMOs, the Supplementary Protocol encourages each State to ensure that some legal framework is in place to protect its environment if the commercial promise behind LMOs instead creates environmental peril. The Supplementary Protocol is the next logical step to ensure accountability if public or private actors create adverse impacts on the environment and human health from the transboundary trade and transport of LMOs.