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Domestic Implementation of the Cartgena Protocol in Kenya and South Africa: A comparative analysis

This comparative study sought to answer the following key research question: to what extent are current and proposed biosafety legislations in Kenya and South Africa consistent with or at variance with key provisions of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (the Protocol)? The specific objectives of t...

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Main Author: Mouitui, Charles Otuke
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Institute of Marine and Environmental Law 2014
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access_status_str Open Access
author Mouitui, Charles Otuke
author_browse Mouitui, Charles Otuke
author_facet Mouitui, Charles Otuke
author_sort Mouitui, Charles Otuke
collection Thesis
description This comparative study sought to answer the following key research question: to what extent are current and proposed biosafety legislations in Kenya and South Africa consistent with or at variance with key provisions of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (the Protocol)? The specific objectives of the study were: to provide an overview of international and African regional approaches to regulation of modern biotechnology; to establish the extent to which such legislation is consistent with or at variance with key provisions of the Protocol, and to assess whether the above legislations are relevant and workable domestically. The study utilized the comparative study methodology. Analysis was guided by a conceptual framework which captured variance and consistency of the Kenyan Biosafety Bill 2005 on one hand and the Genetically Modified Organisms Act together with the Genetically Modified Organisms Amendment Bill 2005 on the other hand as against the Protocol. The study noted that whereas Legal regulation of modern biotechnology is a complex and a sensitive issue globally, translating science into the normative language of law is itself a complex process. The intricacies of legal regulation are exacerbated by the competing and quite often, irreconcilable socio-economic, cultural, ethical and political imperatives that affect biosafety legislation. Biosafety legislation in Africa is at its infancy yet attempts to establish and maintain a balance; grapples with the above competing imperatives thereby raising political questions that leave African states (Kenya and South Africa included) caught up in the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) cold war. In essence, modern biotechnology raises and leaves more questions than can be answered. The findings of this thesis are threefold: the Protocol is itself inadequate; variance significantly outweighs consistency in attempts to comply with the Protocol by Kenya and South Africa, and establishing relevant and workable biosafety legislations in the two countries is problematic and unforeseeable in the near future if not mired in controversy.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:34:49.702Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2014
publishDateRange 2014
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publisher Institute of Marine and Environmental Law
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/4486 Domestic Implementation of the Cartgena Protocol in Kenya and South Africa: A comparative analysis Mouitui, Charles Otuke This comparative study sought to answer the following key research question: to what extent are current and proposed biosafety legislations in Kenya and South Africa consistent with or at variance with key provisions of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (the Protocol)? The specific objectives of the study were: to provide an overview of international and African regional approaches to regulation of modern biotechnology; to establish the extent to which such legislation is consistent with or at variance with key provisions of the Protocol, and to assess whether the above legislations are relevant and workable domestically. The study utilized the comparative study methodology. Analysis was guided by a conceptual framework which captured variance and consistency of the Kenyan Biosafety Bill 2005 on one hand and the Genetically Modified Organisms Act together with the Genetically Modified Organisms Amendment Bill 2005 on the other hand as against the Protocol. The study noted that whereas Legal regulation of modern biotechnology is a complex and a sensitive issue globally, translating science into the normative language of law is itself a complex process. The intricacies of legal regulation are exacerbated by the competing and quite often, irreconcilable socio-economic, cultural, ethical and political imperatives that affect biosafety legislation. Biosafety legislation in Africa is at its infancy yet attempts to establish and maintain a balance; grapples with the above competing imperatives thereby raising political questions that leave African states (Kenya and South Africa included) caught up in the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) cold war. In essence, modern biotechnology raises and leaves more questions than can be answered. The findings of this thesis are threefold: the Protocol is itself inadequate; variance significantly outweighs consistency in attempts to comply with the Protocol by Kenya and South Africa, and establishing relevant and workable biosafety legislations in the two countries is problematic and unforeseeable in the near future if not mired in controversy. 2014-07-30T18:02:34Z 2014-07-30T18:02:34Z 2014-07-30 Master Thesis Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4486 en application/pdf Institute of Marine and Environmental Law Faculty of Law University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Mouitui, Charles Otuke
Domestic Implementation of the Cartgena Protocol in Kenya and South Africa: A comparative analysis
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Domestic Implementation of the Cartgena Protocol in Kenya and South Africa: A comparative analysis
title_full Domestic Implementation of the Cartgena Protocol in Kenya and South Africa: A comparative analysis
title_fullStr Domestic Implementation of the Cartgena Protocol in Kenya and South Africa: A comparative analysis
title_full_unstemmed Domestic Implementation of the Cartgena Protocol in Kenya and South Africa: A comparative analysis
title_short Domestic Implementation of the Cartgena Protocol in Kenya and South Africa: A comparative analysis
title_sort domestic implementation of the cartgena protocol in kenya and south africa a comparative analysis
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4486
work_keys_str_mv AT mouituicharlesotuke domesticimplementationofthecartgenaprotocolinkenyaandsouthafricaacomparativeanalysis