www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

The Greens are calling for New Zealand to stop being the only country
preventing an international agreement on genetically engineered organisms,
March 2006.

Green Party MP Nandor Tanczos said it was shameful New Zealand had not
signed the Cartagena Protocol, which came into force in 2003.

The protocol required exporters to provide more information about GE
products like maize and soybeans to recipient countries to help them decide
whether to accept them.

Under its provisions, a nation may reject GE crops or seed -- even without
scientific proof -- if it fears they pose a danger to traditional crops,
undermine local cultures or cut the value of biodiversity to indigenous
communities.

Talks are underway this week in Curitiba, Brazil.

"We have been the object of international condemnation for some time for
being on of the countries to block agreement. Now to our shame we stand
alone in wanting to deny developing countries the protection of a robust
international standard," Mr Tanczos said.

"We have strong rules at our own borders but are seeking to deny that to the
countries that cannot afford the kinds of testing regimes we have in place.
It is a shameful stance. "

He said the Government was behaving like an international vandal.

Mr Tanczos earlier said New Zealand was acting on behalf of the United
States which is not a party to the talks.

Yesterday Acting Prime Minister Michael Cullen denied that.

"This Government does not act as a stalking horse for the United States in
any matter at all," said Dr Cullen, who is also acting Foreign Minister.

About 132 countries have signed the treaty, but not the United States, and
it has no vote on issues such as how shipments should be labelled if they
have unintended genetically engineered (GE) content.

Mr Tanczos questioned the Government's motives after NZ and Brazil were the
only countries which stopped 117 other signatories reaching a consensus on
labelling at the previous round of talks in Montreal last year. Brazil has
now changed its position.

Dr Cullen said New Zealand supported meaningful and informative labelling of
GE organisms. "We think it is important to have simple, practical, workable,
and implementable documentation requirements."

Dr Cullen said New Zealand would not support accidental inclusion of GE
content as requiring that content to be listed on the shipment
documentation, because such a provision could catch conventional
agricultural shipments, even of crops produced to organic standards.

Ordinary crops would have to be labelled "may contain living, modified
organisms" because of the remote possibility they might have come into
contact with living, modified organisms, he said.

The Cartagena Protocol, which came into force in 2003, requires exporters to
provide more information about GE products like maize and soybeans to
recipient countries to help them decide whether to accept them.

[www.nzherald.co.nz]

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