Mr. Chair,

India places on record its sincere appreciation for the very significant work carried out by Kazuhiro-san of Japan as the Chair of MX2, and the report as presented by Umetsu-san earlier today.    

The developments in science and technology are having a profound affect, not only on the Convention, in terms of challenges and opportunities, but also on the implementation of the Convention. Any legally binding protocol would have to factor in this aspect, whether in the framework of a declaration regime or a verification regime.

Article XII of the Convention itself provides for a review of new scientific and technological developments relevant to the Convention. However, we still do not have a scientific review mechanism in place, leaving a major gap in the Convention. At the same time, it is a matter of great satisfaction to note the recent intensification of efforts to establish a scientific review mechanism. We have heard useful proposals from Germany, Russian Federation, Switzerland and the United States, among others. All of them have received a serious consideration from my delegation. We believe that there is merit in drawing upon these proposals to cull out important elements and reach a consensus agreement at the Ninth Review Conference to establish a scientific review mechanism.

India also looks at such a mechanism from the perspective of international cooperation and assistance. Discussions under the auspices of a mechanism like this would also contribute to promoting exchange of scientific knowledge, human resources and equipment. Therefore, a scientific review mechanism, holds a great value for developing countries and should command their support.

Mr. Chair,

We have heard a number of useful proposals on bio-security and bio-safety guidelines including the Tianjin guidelines, proposed by the Peoples Republic of China and Pakistan. All these proposals need our serious consideration and as noted by the distinguished delegation of the United Kingdom, these guidelines should continue to guide the work of scientists and biologists leading to a culture of responsible research. Many countries, including my own country, have not only instituted and adopted various guidelines, but also given them legal effect through national legislation. In our view, it would be useful to undertake a global study or survey to compile various bio-security and bio-safety guidelines, and good practices in this regard.

Such a compendium of good practices and guidelines from all over the world, would prove to be an important reference document for Member States to guide and regulate the work of their scientists in the area of bio-security and bio-safety. As also noted by the United Kingdom, we would caution against an over-prescriptive approach, as these matters are best left to Member States. We, therefore, will find it difficult to support adoption of any particular set of guidelines or codes of conduct.

In the spirit of open exchange, as in the past, we would like to share some of the steps that India has undertaken in this area. With your permission, Mr. Chair, I invite our expert Dr. Nitin Jain from the Department of Biotechnology of India to outline some of these initiatives.

I thank you, Mr. Chairperson.