2 March 2011
Six Countries Sign ABS Protocol in First Month
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Mexico and Rwanda have signed the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), bringing the total number of signatories within the first month to six.

28 February 2011: Mexico and Rwanda joined four other countries in signing the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in the first month of opening for signature.

Mexico became the fifth signatory state on 25 February 2011, with Rwanda signing on 28 February. Agreed upon at the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD, held in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, the Nagoya Protocol was opened for signature on 2 February 2011 during a signing ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York, US, and was signed by Colombia, Yemen, Algeria and Brazil that day.

The Nagoya Protocol will enter into force 90 days after the deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. [CBD Press Release on Mexico’s Signature] [CBD Press Release on Rwanda’s Signature]