In Spring 1994, the British and Dutch governments organized two meetings with the aim of developing guidelines for safety in biotechnology. The discussions between participants from both developing and developed countries resulted in a new document containing guidelines.

In the United Nations Conference for Environment and Development (UNCED) Agenda 21, it was agreed that international co­operation on safety in biotechnology should be considered. This co­operation should include the development and harmonization of national safety mechanisms, as well as the establishment of a framework of internationally agreed principles of safety in biotechnology.
Early during the preparation of the UNCED in Rio de Janeiro, developing countries insisted that the Conference should not only discuss the environment, but accept the interrelationship between protection of the global environment and global development. Many participating countries took the stand that the protection, maintenance and exploitation of biodiversity should be negotiated in order to accomplish transfer of technology from the technologically advanced countries to developing countries. Therefore, it was argued that discussions on the application of biotechnology should feature on the agenda of the Convention on Biodiversity. In the view of many countries, safety regulations are conditional on the safe application of biotechnology, and should therefore form an aspect of technology transfer, also to be addressed by the Convention for Biodiversity. Other countries have doubted whether this will be an efficient approach, since safety in biotechnology as such is only distantly related to biodiversity issues, and this route may take many years. Additionally, some countries are opposed to any further regulation, as it is in contrast with their internal deregulation policies.

The Anglo­Dutch initiative
Although Agenda 21 agreed on international co­operation and harmonization on safety in biotechnology, little progress towards such an agreement had been made by the end of 1993. However, during meetings such as the African Regional Conference for International Cooperation on Safety in Biotechnology which was held in Harare in 1993 (see also Monitor no. 17), the need for international support for information exchange and capacity building was felt.
Therefore, government officials from the UK and Dutch Departments for the Environment decided to support the development of voluntary guidelines for safety in biotechnology. As a technical framework, these guidelines should assist governments to develop their own policies concerning the introduction of safety mechanisms. Furthermore, on the one hand the guidelines should not preempt the options to agree on a legally enforceable protocol to the Biodiversity Convention. On the other hand, they should assist governments of developing countries at a practical level in establishing their own biosafety mechanisms in line with international co­operation and harmonization.

In two subsequent meetings, in March 1994 in the UK, and in May 1994 in The Netherlands, a proposal drafted by the British and Dutch government officials was discussed. At this meeting experts from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Egypt, Hungary, India, Kenya, The Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda and the UK participated. Participants came from governmental organizations, academic institutions, industry, non­governmental organizations and international organizations.
One group of participants, originating from countries which strongly favour the establishment of a legally binding document under the Biodiversity Convention agreed that the adoption of such a legally binding document might take several years, and that voluntary guidelines could be helpful in the meantime. A second group of participants felt that the voluntary guidelines could serve to gain experience and even improve a future binding protocol. Meanwhile, a third group of participants did not expect much from such a legally binding protocol, but also stated that the proposal for technical guidelines should not stand in the way of a legally binding document. The participants agreed on a draft text and on its further discussion in various international forums to promote its adoption.

The content of the draft guidelines
The document containing the draft guidelines proposes:

• The identification of a national administration point for the international exchange of information.
• The establishment of regional groups to make arrangements for routine reciprocal exchanges.
• The encouragement of governments and international organizations to provide technical assistance in order to increase awareness and expertise in assessing and managing risks associated with the use of novel organisms.
• The encouragement of companies to assist in training local people in the safe handling and use of such organisms.

(DGIS, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands)