Welcoming the information provided by the Executive Secretary on activities undertaken to improve cooperation with other organizations, conventions and initiatives,
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Also welcoming the Executive Secretary’s cooperation with, inter alia, the World Trade Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Plant Protection Convention, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Access to Information Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention), the European Union Reference Laboratory for GM Food and Feed of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, and the Green Customs Initiative,
Underlining the contribution of cooperation and coordination among relevant organizations, multilateral agreements and initiatives to the effective implementation of the Protocol and the Strategic Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety for the period 2011–2020, adopted at the fifth meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, relating, in particular, to the key areas of the Protocol, namely capacity-building, information sharing, detection and identification of living modified organisms, public awareness and participation and risk assessment,
1.Urges Parties to improve and strengthen collaboration at the regional and national levels among focal points of organizations, conventions and initiatives relevant to the implementation of the Biosafety Protocol, as appropriate;
2.Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of funds:
(a)To further pursue, at the current level, cooperation with other organizations, conventions and initiatives, including academic and research institutions, from all regions, with a view to meeting the strategic objective in focal area 5 of the Strategic Plan, on outreach and cooperation;
(b)To promote active participation of other conventions and related organizations in the BCH online discussion portal;
(c)To continue efforts to gain observer status for the Convention on Biological Diversity in those committees of the World Trade Organization that are relevant to biosafety.
