31 January 2014: Benin, Burkina Faso and Myanmar have ratified the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS), bringing the total number of ratifications to 29.

“These recent ratifications by Benin, Burkina Faso and Myanmar establish the necessary momentum towards entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol in time for the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, to be hosted by the Republic of Korea in October 2014,” said Braulio F. de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The ABS Protocol will enter into force 90 days after the date of deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification.

Benin, Burkina Faso and Myanmar join Albania, Bhutan, Botswana, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lao PDR, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Mongolia, Norway, Panama, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Syria and Tajikistan. [CBD Press Release][List of Signatures and Ratifications]