ABSTRACT
Iran played a significant role in the biosafety negotiations. As in all international negotiations, the countries participating in the biosafety talks had different and often conflicting perceptions, views and interests. The European Union (EU) became interested in the protocol towards the end of the negotiations as a way to resolve some of its bilateral trade problems with the US, notably the confrontation over the EU’s import ban on hormone-treated beef. The Compromise Group, with Switzerland as its main representative, played a pivotal role in the final stage of the negotiations, in Montreal. The overwhelming concern of the developing countries throughout the negotiations was to protect the health of their peoples and their wealth of biodiversity. Despite all the differing views and interests among the developing countries, the Like-Minded Group acted efficiently and with unity from the last days of the Cartagena meeting to the end of the negotiations in Montreal.
