The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is one of the most important international treaties recently adopted. It marks a commitment by the international community to the safe transport, handling and use of living modified organisms.

The first binding international agreement dealing with biosafety risks, it is also a historic milestone that addresses new and controversial issues.

The conclusion of the negotiation of a treaty is certainly an end, but also a beginning: the beginning of an implementation process, which will determine whether, in fact, the instrument resulting from the negotiation will achieve the objectives that initially set in motion the negotiation process. In order to properly implement a treaty, you must first be familiar with the instrument itself, as well as its implications. In this respect, the Cartagena Protocol may not be entirely accessible, at first reading, to all those who will be involved, in one way or another, in its implementation. The purpose of this explanatory guide is to make access easier and representative of a useful reference tool for all those involved in its implementation.