5 May 2011: Mali, the Seychelles, Sudan, Panama and Peru have recently signed the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS), bringing the number of signatures to 13.

Following Sudan’s signing in April 2011, Panama and Peru signed the ABS Protocol on 5 May 2011, bringing the number of signatories from Latin America and the Caribbean to six. Mali and the Seychelles signed in April.

The ABS Protocol will enter into force 90 days after its ratification by 50 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The next signing ceremony will be held on 11 May 2011, at UN Headquarters in New York, in conjunction with the Ministerial Segment of the 19th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 19). [CBD Communiqué on Panama and Peru] [CBD Communiqué on Sudan]