Date and venue of the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,

Recalling paragraph 1 (a) of decision BS-I/12 of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, which indicates the possibility of revising the periodicity of the meetings of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol beyond the third meeting,

Recognizing that the Protocol requirements that needed early actions in the life of the Protocol and that were taken into account in deciding to have meetings of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on annual basis, have now been more or less fulfilled,

Recalling rule 4 of the rules of procedure for meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, which applies also to the Protocol mutatis mutandis, and which states that ordinary meetings of the Conference of the Parties shall be held every two years,

Recalling also Article 29, paragraph 6 of the Protocol which provides for holding ordinary meetings, subsequent to the first one, of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meetings of the Protocol in conjunction with the ordinary meetings of the Conference of the Parties, unless otherwise decided by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol,

Decides:

(a) To hold its future ordinary meetings every two years as specified in Rule 4 of the rules of procedure for meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention which applies mutatis mutandis to the meetings of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol;

(b) To hold its fourth meeting in conjunction with the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention.