HC Deb 17 January 2000 vol 342 cc245-6W
Ms Drown

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if it is his policy to support the adoption of a biosafety protocol allowing Governments to prohibit imports of genetically modified organisms. [104586]

Mr. Meacher

Yes. The Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity would establish Advanced Informed Agreement (AIA) procedures, whereby a Party of import could accept or refuse imports of certain living (genetically) modified organisms (LMOs) on the basis of the impacts on biodiversity.

Ms Drown

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if it is his policy to support the adoption of a biosafety protocol making companies that produce genetically modified organisms legally liable for any future damage to the environment or public health resulting from the import of those GMOs by another country. [104584]

Mr. Meacher

In the negotiations on the Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity resuming in Montreal later this month, we will continue to support an enabling provision that would adopt a process elaborating international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress for damage resulting from transboundary movements of living (genetically) modified organisms, and endeavour to complete the process within four years.

Ms Drown

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if it is his policy to support the adoption of a biosafety protocol requiring the separation of genetically modified grain from other grain. [104585]

Mr. Meacher

The draft text of the Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity does not require separation. However, EU Ministers have agreed that information exchange and documentation requirements are needed under the Protocol and should ensure satisfactory transparency and monitoring of movements of LMOs as well as their identification, which would also enable traceability.