Abstract
Ethiopia- a party to CPB- needs to benefit from the advantages of modern biotechnology, by managing the possible risks occasioned as a result of the application of the technology on human and animal health, biological diversity and the environment. In an attempt to implement the obligations under the protocol, the country promulgated Biosafety proclamation and Directives which regulate among other things import of GMOs. As Ethiopia is on the way to join the WTO, compatibility of the legal system with WTO rules that would otherwise affect international trade has paramount importance either to facilitate the accession or to prevent future trade disputes before the WTO dispute settlement body. And hence, the purpose of this paper is to explore the regulatory framework of import regulation of GMOs in Ethiopia and to assess its compatibility with WTO rules- namely SPS, TBT and GATT agreements.
Highlights
Genetic engineering allows scientists to reorder the basic building blocks of life to create new varieties of living organisms
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are regulated in Ethiopia under the Biosafety proclamation No 655/2009, which provides a general framework from which other regulations and directives to be enacted for its enforcement
When we look at the objective of the import regulation we can see that it serve to protect human and animal health, biological diversity, the environment, local communities and the country at large
Summary
Genetic engineering allows scientists to reorder the basic building blocks of life to create new varieties of living organisms. Biosecurity does not appear in any policy document in Ethiopia, there are some attempts to adopt specific regulatory provisions in scattered sectoral laws to realize the demands of Biosecurity These Various laws have empowered several agencies to undertake inspections of food quality, issue procedures and standards against risks of plant and animal diseases and thereby enhance human health and environmental sustainability. GMOs are regulated in Ethiopia under the Biosafety proclamation No 655/2009 (here in after proclamation), which provides a general framework from which other regulations and directives to be enacted for its enforcement The objective of this Proclamation as provided in article 4 is “to protect human and animal health, biological diversity, the environment, local communities and the country at large by preventing or managing down to levels of insignificance the adverse effects of modified organisms.”. The nature of the regulatory frame work of the import regulation of GMOs can be classified in to two main types of measures- approval procedure to engage in any transaction of GMOs and mandatory labeling of GMOs and their products
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