05/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The ban on cloning of human beings has come into effect for Spain, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia and Georgia following the entry into force, on 1 March, of the protocol on cloning at the Convention of the Council of Europe on Human Rights and Biomedicine. Five ratifications were needed for implementation of the protocol, which does not ban the cloning of cells or tissues for the purposes of medical research or for therapeutic reasons.