GMOs - EU''s DOUBLE STANDARDS IN CENTRAL ASIA

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GMW: GMOs - EU''s DOUBLE STANDARDS IN CENTRAL ASIA

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Tue, 24 May 2005 10:26:09 +0100

 

 

 

 

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GMOs: EU''s DOUBLE STANDARDS IN CENTRAL ASIA

 

PRESS RELEASE for immediate release - May 24 2005

Friends of the Earth

European Environmental Bureau

Ecoforum

 

CONTACT NUMBERS AT BOTTOM OF EMAIL:

 

Brussels (Belgium), Almaty (Kazakhastan), May 24, 2005 - More than 30

Civil Society organizations from Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central

Asia

(EECCA) have today strongly condemned the European Union''s (EU)

attempts to prevent the public in non-EU countries from opposing the

introduction of

genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This denouncement is taking

place during the second Meeting of the Parties to a United Nations Treaty

on environmental rights, called the Aarhus Convention, in Almaty,

(Kazakhastan), in the heart of Central Asia.

 

" The behavior of the European Union is outrageous, and is not taking

seriously the concerns and positions of non-EU citizens. While the EU has

one of the strongest biosafety frameworks for GMOs in the world, it is

promoting weak GMO laws abroad. This is a clear unfair double

standard " , said Serhiy Vykhryst, Ukrainian Legal Expert from the

environmental

coalition Ecoforum.

 

More than four years have passed since discussions took place in Geneva

on a possible amendment to the Aarhus Convention to guarantee the

citizens from the EECCA region are fully involved in any decisions

related

to GMOs. Despite the constant calls from civil society and governments

from the

EECCA region for a comprehensive amendment that would grant such

rights, the European Union has adamantly opposed it. The biotech

industry is

also

strongly opposed to any amendment to the Convention.

 

" Our region is the center of origin of many crops, and the introduction

of GMOs puts at risk our genetic resources. Taking into account the

significant uncertainty over the risk of GMOs, we need to act with great

caution. No GMOs must be introduced here without full public

participation

and scrutiny by all relevant stakeholders " , said Mihail Matveyenko, of

Global and Local Information Partnership of Kyrgystan

 

The Aarhus Convention is an international treaty on access to

information, public participation and access to justice in environmental

decision-making. The treaty has been ratified by 34 countries from

Europe,

Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as the European Community.

 

Background information:

Official Site 2nd Meeting of the Parties:

http://www.unece.org/env/pp/mop2.htm

UNECE Aarhus Convention GMO webpage:

http://www.unece.org/env/pp/gmo.htm

Position of the Biotechnology Industry Organization on GMOs in Aarhus:

http://www.unece.org/env/pp/gmo/lbbio.pdf

 

For more information:

Serhy Vykhryst, Ecoforum (Russian, English): tel. +(7300) 6654139

Mihail Matveyenko, of Global and Local Information Partnership,

Kyrgystan (Russian): tel. +(7300) 6654139

Juan Lopez, Friends of the Earth International (English, Spanish,

French): tel. +(7300) 6654139

John Hontelez, European Environmental Bureau (English, Dutch, German,

French): +(32) 486512127

Adrian Bebb, Friends of the Earth Europe (English): + (49) 1609 490

1163

 

 

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