ESCRITO DE AMICUS CURIAE

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) submits this brief to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) regarding Case 12.696. It contends that Chile's Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) provided incomplete and ambiguous information about GMO crops, failing to disclose specific planting locations and the identities of companies involved. The document argues that scientific uncertainty regarding GMO risks to human health and biodiversity necessitates a transparent regulatory framework and public participation. It supports its claims by citing international instruments like the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Aarhus Convention, as well as jurisprudence from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights, and the European Court of Justice, all of which emphasize the public's right to environmental information.

• The document identifies significant scientific uncertainty regarding GMOs, noting that linear models are insufficient for predicting the complexity of biological systems and that unintended DNA insertions can occur.
• Potential risks to human health from GMOs include the inadvertent introduction of allergens or toxins, the creation of new allergens in pollen, and the transfer of antibiotic resistance to pathogenic microorganisms during digestion.
• Environmental risks associated with GMOs include the unintentional release of transgenic material via seed dispersal, horizontal transfer, and pollen drift, which can lead to the creation of 'super weeds' or the extinction of endemic species.
• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety establishes mandatory international standards for GMOs, utilizing the 'advance informed agreement' procedure and the Biosafety Clearing-House to ensure countries have necessary information before importing living modified organisms.
• The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in the Sausheim v. Azelvandre case that exceptions for competitive advantage or intellectual property do not justify withholding information regarding the specific locations where GMOs are released into the environment.
• The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in the Claude Reyes v. Chile case, established that the right to freedom of thought and expression includes a positive obligation for the State to provide access to information under its control without requiring the person to prove a 'direct interest'.
• The Chilean government's response to information requests about GMOs was deemed incomplete and ambiguous, as the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) omitted the names of companies and exact planting locations, providing only general regional data.
• The document argues that Chile's internal regulations are insufficient to guarantee public access to detailed destination data for GMOs, which is critical for communities near experimentation sites that may suffer health or environmental damage.

APA

Orellana, M. A., Figueroa, D., Hasan-Granier, T., Oliva, M. J., Parente, A. P., & Rojas, C. (n.d.). ESCRITO DE AMICUS CURIAE. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Fredes_Tuczek_Amicus_Feb10.pdf

Chicago

Orellana, Marcos A., Dante Figueroa, Tazeen Hasan-Granier, María Julia Oliva, Ana Paula Parente, and Cecilia Rojas. ESCRITO DE AMICUS CURIAE. Center for International Environmental Law, n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Fredes_Tuczek_Amicus_Feb10.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Orellana |first1=Marcos A. |last2=Figueroa |first2=Dante |last3=Hasan-Granier |first3=Tazeen |last4=Oliva |first4=María Julia |last5=Parente |first5=Ana Paula |last6=Rojas |first6=Cecilia |title=ESCRITO DE AMICUS CURIAE |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Fredes_Tuczek_Amicus_Feb10.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{orellanandescrito, author = {Orellana, Marcos A. and Figueroa, Dante and Hasan-Granier, Tazeen and Oliva, María Julia and Parente, Ana Paula and Rojas, Cecilia}, title = {{ESCRITO DE AMICUS CURIAE}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Fredes_Tuczek_Amicus_Feb10.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }