ABSTRACT
The Biosafety Working Group (BSWG) process was formally speaking governed by the rules of procedure for the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The structure of the process started to emerge at the second BSWG meeting through the establishment of a special group to deal with definitions and annexes. An essential part of a process like the BSWG process is human relations, and maybe the human dimensions are, after all the most fascinating feature of any process. The first meeting of the BSWG was followed by COP-3. Biosafety was going to be on the agenda of the COP as the chair and the Bureau of the BSWG had to be elected. Almost a year and a half later, at COP-5 from 15 to 26 May 2000, the Cartagena Protocol is opened for signature on 24 May in Nairobi.
