GMO scrutiny convention to start April 20- UN

A two-decade old international agreement on ensuring public scrutiny of decisions on the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will take effect in April after achieving enough ratifications, the UN said Tuesday.

Amid fears over the potential risks to human health and the environment posed by GMOs, a group of countries agreed in 2005 to spell out the right to participate in decisions around the release and commercialisation of the organisms.

On January 20, Ukraine became the latest country to ratify the GMO-related amendment to the Aarhus Convention — a legally-binding text that provides for justice in environmental matters — bringing the number of ratifications to 33, the United Nations said. That number allows the agreement to enter into force.

The amendment, which requires “public participation in decisions on the deliberate release into the environment and placing on the market of genetically modified organisms” will take effect on April 20, the UN’s Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said in a statement.

This means that the European Union, Britain and the other parties that have ratified the amendment, as well as all UN member states who might join the amendment going forward “must establish in their regulatory framework effective means to ensure transparency and public participation in related decisions”, it said.

Major GMO users the United States and Brazil have not ratified the accord, nor have other key economies such as China and Russia.

Since the amendment was first adopted, the cultivation of genetically modified seeds has swelled worldwide, amid a diversification of the types of GMOs grown in addition to the initial three: maize, soybean and cotton, the agency pointed out.

Since 1996, the planting area of GM crops is estimated to have ballooned 121-fold, now accounting for around 13 percent of total farm area, it said.

UNECE cautioned that the increased use of GMO crops in recent decades had coincided with the swelling use of pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals in agriculture, and growing weed resistance.

“It is therefore essential to ensure that the public has complete access to all relevant information and is aware of, and can effectively participate in, decision-making regarding GMO-related matters,” it said.

“The Aarhus Convention, strengthened by its GMO amendment, offers all UN member states and stakeholders a solid framework for engaging the public in such decision-making.”