EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY BY SAFETY FRAME WORK
The developments in modern biotechnology using recombinant DNA techniques, otherwise known as genetic engineering has been hailed by some as a major breakthrough that will unlock the potential in breeding, medicine, bio-remediation and industrial applications; while to some, it is regarded a risky misadventure that poses lots of risks to biodiversity, the environment and human health. Either side of the continuum has some merits that warrant some consideration.
However, there is general consensus, globally that the science of genetic engineering has a great potential for human development if developed and applied judiciously with the necessary safety measures and regulations to ensure its safe development, transfer and use, to ensure full benefit from the technologies and eliminating or at least minimizing any potential risks associated with these technologies. The term Biosafety is a collective term used to refer to the measures put in place and enforced to ensure the safe development, transfer and use of genetic engineering products / genetically modified organisms. The CPB is one of the international treaties is an international treaty under the auspices of the CBD, that strives to promote biosafety globally.
The African Union Commission put in place some regional measures in form of strategies, Issues papers and a model law to help its member states to put in place their national biosafety frameworks, laws and standards as well as helping its sub-regional components to do the same at sub-regional level. The East African Community having committed itself to promote harmonized Biosafety policies among its member states, requested the AU Commission for assistance in form of a study to produce a harmonized EAC Biosafety Policy guidelines to form a basis for this EAC harmonized policy framework on biosafety; a call this document addresses.
The document in its section one first gives a background to Biosafety, at the international regional and sub-regional scenes, before delving into the status of implementation of the requirements under the CPB to which all EAC partner states are parties in section 2, first summarising what obligations under the CPB require implementation by parties. Section three addresses the harmonized policy framework for EAC, using the obligations under the Protocol; identifying the key issues/ challenges and policies that would be put in place to address the key challenges.
Section four deals with the issue of Capacity building for Biosafety as well as proposes ways and means of raising the necessary resources for biosafety capacity building, while section five proposes an institutional mechanism for implementation of the harmonized policies.
Log in with your EU Login account to post or comment on the platform.