A/RES/55/201 1. Urges Member States that have not joined the Convention on Biological Diversity1 to become parties to it, without further delay; 2. Calls upon Member States that are parties to the Convention to sign and ratify the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety5 as soon as possible; 3. Takes note of the results of the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, held at Nairobi from 15 to 26 May 2000; 6 4. Reaffirms the importance of the decision of the Conference of the Parties on the adoption of its programme of work and the thematic approach to guide its work in the development of the Convention for the foreseeable future, including its in-depth consideration of ecosystems and other cross-cutting issues; 6 5. Notes the decision by the Conference of the Parties to undertake a limited number of pilot scientific assessments in preparation for the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, to be involved in the proposed millennium ecosystem assessment, and its request to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice to identify opportunities for collaboration; 6. Stresses the importance of capacity-building activities, especially in developing countries, for the implementation of the Convention and the Cartagena Protocol, particularly the development of systems to allow parties to implement the Convention and the Protocol, and encourages developed countries to provide adequate support for those activities; 7. Urges developed countries to facilitate the transfer of environmentally sound biotechnology for the effective implementation of the Cartagena Protocol, in accordance with relevant articles of the Convention and the Protocol; 8. Decides to proclaim 22 May, the date of the adoption of the text of the Convention, as the International Day for Biological Diversity henceforth; 9. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Executive Secretary of the Convention to take all steps necessary to ensure the successful observance of the International Day for Biological Diversity; 10. Welcomes the decision of the Conference of the Parties to contribute to the ten-year review of the implementation of Agenda 21 2 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, 7 and decides to invite the Executive Secretary and, if appropriate, the President of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to report to it at its relevant session; 11. Recognizes the importance of the rapid development and implementation of the Strategic Plan for the Convention, and encourages States parties to provide to the Executive Secretary, in accordance with decision V/20 adopted by the Conference of the Parties,6 their detailed views on the matter as soon as possible; 12. Welcomes the collaborative work between the Convention and related conventions, in particular the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, adopted at Ramsar, Islamic Republic of Iran, on 2 February 1971; 8 6 See UNEP/CBD/COP/5/23 and Corr.1, annex III. Resolution S-19/2, annex. 8 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 996, No. 14583. 7 3