RECALLING the terms of Article III.5 of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, whereby "the expenses of each member of the Commission and of his experts and advisers shall be determined and paid by his own Government";
RECOGNISING that a large number of developing countries are members of the IWC and that some have financial difficulties that limit their full participation in the work of the IWC;
DESIRING, within the terms of the Convention, to ensure the fullest possible participation of all Contracting Governments in the work of the Commission;
RECOGNISING that financial assistance to strengthen the scientific and technical capacity of member governments to participate fully in the work of other intergovernmental organizations is provided by other intergovernmental organizations; and
RECALLING the voluntary financial support provided to Contracting Governments in Capacity to Pay Groups 1 and 2 during the special meetings of the Small Working Group tasked with advancing the ‘Future of the IWC’ process;
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
DECIDES to create a ‘Voluntary Assistance Fund’ so as to facilitate Contracting Governments in Capacity to Pay Groups 1 and 2 that are not EU Member States or members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, (hereinafter eligible Groups 1 and 2 Governments), to participate fully in the work of the Commission;
DECIDES that the sources of the Fund shall be voluntary contributions obtained from Contracting Governments or from national or international bodies or entities interested in facilitating eligible Groups 1 and 2 Governments to participate fully in the work of the Commission;
DECIDES that for reasons of fair representation, Contracting Governments that are willing to contribute to the Fund shall not place individual country-specific restrictions on the choice of beneficiaries of their contributions and shall not specifically finance participation by means other than contributions to the Fund;
DECIDES that payments from the Fund shall be made in accordance with the lesser of the amount provided for in the International Civil Service Commission’s Daily Subsistence Allowance and UN travel rules, or the amount provided for in the domestic rules of the eligible Groups 1 and 2 Governments, and shall ensure that all beneficiaries are treated in the same way;
DECIDES that the initial capital of the Fund shall be the amount of voluntary contributions provided for support of developing countries during the ‘Future of the IWC’ process that remain unspent;
ENCOURAGES Contracting Governments and INVITES others in a position to do so, to make contributions to the Fund;
REQUESTS the Secretary with advice from the Bureau to administer the Fund subject to the financial regulations and audit rules of the Commission, giving priority to eligible Group 1 Governments;
REQUESTS the Secretary to provide timely estimates to the Commission of the funding required to facilitate the full participation of eligible Groups 1 and 2 Governments in the work of the Commission, as well as of the balance available in the Fund and to indicate any shortfall;
DECIDES that the Fund shall be available to the eligible Groups 1 and 2 Governments to participate fully in the Commission’s work based on guidelines for the administration of funding in Annex 2;
DECIDES that these guidelines should be kept under review and further amendments be proposed to the Commission as appropriate to ensure effective prioritisation and use of available funds in a manner consistent with Article lll(5) of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
DECIDES that a review of the performance of the Fund shall take place at the 69th Meeting of the International Whaling Commission;
ADOPTS the amendments to its Financial Regulations and an additional Appendix thereto, as contained in Annexes 1 and 2 to this Resolution.