United Nations General Assembly A/RES/59/236 Distr.: General 28 February 2005 Fifty-ninth session Agenda item 85 (f) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 22 December 2004 [on the report of the Second Committee (A/59/483/Add.6)] 59/236. Convention on Biological Diversity The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 55/201 of 20 December 2000, 56/197 of 21 December 2001, 57/253 and 57/260 of 20 December 2002 and 58/212 of 23 December 2003, Reiterating that the Convention on Biological Diversity 1 is the key international instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, Recalling the commitments of the World Summit on Sustainable Development to pursue a more efficient and coherent implementation of the three objectives of the Convention and the achievement by 2010 of a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biological diversity, which will require action at all levels, including the implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans and the provision of new and additional financial and technical resources to developing countries, Taking note of the entry into force of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, 2 the objectives of which are the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their use, in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, for sustainable agriculture and food security, Expressing its deep appreciation to the Government of Malaysia for hosting the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, held in Kuala Lumpur, from 9 to 20 and on 27 February and from 23 to 27 February 2004, respectively, Expressing its deep appreciation also to the Government of Brazil for its offer to host the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the _______________ 1 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1760, No. 30619. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Report of the Conference of FAO, Thirty-first Session, Rome, 2-13 November 2001 (C 2001/REP), appendix D. 2 04-49042