Resolution 2007-2

Secretariat note of 30/7/07
Note the version of this Resolution initially posted on the website on 30 May did not incorporate revisions
agreed by the Commission during plenary discussions. The revisions are included in this version in italics.
Resolution 2007-2
RESOLUTION ON SAFETY AT SEA AND PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
WHEREAS the safety of vessels and crew, the order of maritime navigation, and environmental protection, are,
and have long been, the common interests of nations worldwide;
WHEREAS the Commission and Contracting Governments support the right to legitimate and peaceful forms
of protest and demonstration;
RECALLING that the 58th Annual Meeting of the Commission adopted Resolution 2006-2 in which the
Commission agreed and declared that the Commission and its Contracting Governments did not condone any
actions that are a risk to human life and property in relation to the activities of vessels at sea, and urged persons
and entities to refrain from such acts;
SERIOUSLY CONCERNED that certain confrontations and actions at sea relating to whaling and whale
research activities risk human life, property, the marine environment, and the order of maritime navigation, and
may lead to grave accidents;
RECOGNISING the need for all States to take actions, in accordance with relevant rules of international law
and respective national laws and regulations, to cooperate as appropriate to prevent and suppress actions that risk
human life and property at sea;
RECALLING the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea which set
uniform principles and rules for avoiding collisions at sea;
NOTING the general obligation in Article 192 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that
States protect and preserve the marine environment as well as Article 194 (1) and (5) on the need to prevent,
reduce and control pollution in the marine environment including by taking measures necessary to protect and
preserve rare or fragile ecosystems as well as the habitat of depleted, threatened or endangered species and other
forms of marine life;
FURTHER NOTING that Article 197 of UNCLOS requires that States co-operate on a global basis and, as
appropriate, on a regional basis, directly or through competent international organisations, in formulating and
elaborating international rules, standards and recommended practices and procedures consistent with UNCLOS,
for the protection and preservation of the marine environment, taking into account characteristic regional
features;
MINDFUL of the fact that issues relating to confrontation between vessels at sea and in port have been
discussed by this Commission as well as in other international fora including the International Maritime
Organisation;
RECALLING applicable international instruments, including the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful
Acts against the Safety of Navigation, relating to international cooperation for the prevention of unlawful acts
against the safety of maritime navigation and actions against alleged offenders;
NOTING also that MARPOL 73/78 and in particular its Annexes I and V designate the Antarctic as a Special
Area due to the ecological importance of the fragile ecosystems of the area;
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION
IWC59\Resolution 2007-2 1 30/07/07AGREES AND DECLARES again that the Commission and its Contracting Governments do not condone and
in fact condemn any actions that are a risk to human life and property in relation to the activities of vessels at
sea;
URGES persons and entities to refrain from such acts;
FURTHER URGES Contracting Governments to have regard for the importance of protecting the environment,
and in particular the fragile Antarctic environment;
URGES all Contracting Governments concerned to take appropriate measures, consistent with IMO guidelines,
in order to ensure that the substance and spirit of this Resolution are observed both domestically and
internationally;
URGES Contracting Governments to take actions, in accordance with relevant rules of international law and
respective national laws and regulations, to cooperate [ ] to prevent and suppress actions that risk human life and
property at sea and with respect to alleged offenders;
URGES Contracting Governments to cooperate in accordance with UNCLOS and other relevant instruments in
the investigation of incidents at sea including those which might pose a risk to life or the environment.