Key steps towards implementation

Morocco signed the Cartagena Protocol in 2000 and ratified it on 25 April 2011. The said Protocol entered into force in Morocco on 24 July 2011 and was published in the Official Bulletin under number 6062 on 5 July 2012.

As part of the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol, as a State Party, the Department of Sustainable Development acts as the focal point for this protocol, and is therefore responsible for monitoring its implementation and reporting to of the CBD Secretariat. While the National Food Safety Office (ONSSA) has been designated as the competent national authority (CNA) responsible for carrying out the administrative functions that the PC calls for in collaboration with other biosafety stakeholders in Morocco.

In order to initiate the implementation of the said Protocol at the national level, actions have been carried out since its signature namely:

• A draft law relating to LMOs was drawn up during the period 2003-2008;
• A “National Biosafety Committee” was institutionalized in April 2005;
• A project relating to the establishment of a national biosafety framework financed by the GEF and UNEP was implemented in 2009.