International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling

The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling ( Engl. International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling ) is an international treaty under international law , which was closed in 1946 by the whaling regulate. It was signed by 42 nations in Washington, DC ( USA ) on December 2, 1946 and came into force on November 19, 1948. The protocol, which first gave the exact definition of a whaler to include both helicopters and whaling ships, was signed on November 19, 1956. The convention is a successor to the International Agreement for the Regulation of Whaling of June 8, 1937 ( London ); its protocols were signed on June 24, 1938 and November 26, 1946.

The aim of the convention is "the appropriate and effective conservation and development of the whale population". Endangering whale species from excessive hunting by international whaling should be avoided. The convention was intended to create a system for international regulation of whaling to enable the necessary protection and development of the whale populations . The main instrument was the International Whaling Commission (Engl. International Whaling Commission , IWC) determines the changing regularly by the economic , ecological reflected and commercial interests and appropriate amendments to the Convention are carried out.

Catch restrictions

The goal of a permanent and complete ban on commercial whaling is disputed, particularly by Norway and Japan, and is the subject of recurring discussions.

However, whaling is permitted within the scope of the catch restrictions for some indigenous populations to cover their own needs (as of May 2004):

• The Eskimos of Alaska and the indigenous people of the Chukchi Autonomous Okrug in the far northeast of Siberia are allowed to land 67 bowhead whales per year
• In the eastern North Pacific, 140 gray whales are allowed to be caught annually , “by those whose traditional, indigenous and food needs are recognized”
• The Inuit of Greenland are allowed to catch 19 fin whales and 187 minke whales per year
• The population of Bequia ( St. Vincent and the Grenadines , Caribbean ) is allowed 4 humpback whales annually

Since 1986 there have also been special permits for fishing whales for scientific and traditional purposes. Japan , in particular , but also Iceland (until 2006) and (until 1994) Norway made use of it for scientific purposes . Iceland and Norway no longer recognize the ban and operate open commercial whaling. In Greenland, whaling is allowed for traditional purposes. The number of whales killed has been increasing for years, most recently (2004) at 780 a year, which is viewed by environmentalists as an abuse of the instrument of scientific authorizations and as evidence that the Convention is still relatively "toothless" today.

Signatory

Signatory to the Convention

Signatory states * indicated is the year in which the contract came into effect for the respective country
1948	Australia	1993	Grenada
	France		Solomon Islands
	Norway	1994	Austria
	Russia	1998	Italy
	South Africa	2000	Guinea
	United Kingdom	2001	Morocco
	United States		Panama
1949	Mexico	2002	Benin
1950	Denmark		Gabon
1951	Japan		Iceland
1960	Argentina		Mongolia
1974	Brazil		Portugal
1976	New Zealand		Palau
1977	Netherlands		San Marino
1978	South Korea	2003	Belize
1979	Chile		Mauritania
	Peru		Nicaragua
	Spain	2004	Belgium
	Sweden		Ivory Coast
1980	Oman		Hungary
	People's Republic of China		Kiribati
	Switzerland		Mali
1981	Costa Rica		Suriname
	India		Tuvalu
	Kenya	2005	Cameroon
	St. Lucia		Czech Republic
	St. Vincent and the Grenadines		Luxembourg
1982	Antigua and Barbuda		Nauru
	Germany		Slovakia
	Monaco		Gambia
	Senegal		Togo
1983	Finland	2006	Cambodia
1985	Ireland		Guatemala
1992	Dominica		Israel
	St. Kitts and Nevis		Marshall Islands

International Whaling Commission

The Commission, based in Cambridgeshire, consists of the representatives (commissioners) of the currently 75 signatory states. These elect a chairman and a vice-chairman from among their ranks. As a rule, the elected hold office for three years. The chairman is currently the Japanese.

One of the tasks of the Commission is to set catch quotas for whales in the world's oceans . The IWC also defines protection zones in which whaling is prohibited.

IWC conferences

An international conference takes place once a year.

2006

The 58th annual meeting of the Commission took place from June 16-20, 2006 on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and Nevis .

2007

The 59th conference took place from May 4th to 31st, 2007 in Anchorage, Alaska and was accompanied by scientific events on diseases of marine mammals.

The opponents of whaling prevailed with 37: 4 votes and confirmed the ban on commercial hunting that had existed since 1986. Japan threatens to leave the commission. Iceland and Norway still do not recognize the ban.

2010

The 62nd annual meeting took place in Agadir from June 21st to 25th, 2010 . A proposal was put to the vote that Japan, Iceland and Norway should be allowed whaling with fixed quotas for ten years. However, the proposal was rejected.

Portions of this article appear since 2010 is out of date to be .
Please help to research and insert the missing information .

2018

The 2018 annual conference will take place in Florianópolis , Brazil . For the first time, Joji Morishita is a Japanese chairman of the commission. Japan submitted a number of motions in advance, including changing the Commission's voting rules. In addition, Japan wanted to overturn the whaling moratorium and set catch quotas for “sustainable hunting” on whales. Brazil, however, applied to set up a large sanctuary for whales in the South Atlantic . In his opening address, Brazil’s Environment Minister Edson Duarte called for the organization to be converted into a whale protection commission.

Web links

• Text of the Convention in German as amended
• International Whaling Commission website
• Text of the convention on the IWC website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://iwc.int/members
2. ↑ IWC Resolution 2007-4
3. ↑ www.diepresse.com - "Defeat for whaling countries"
4. ↑ www.spiegel.de - Commission stops whale hunters
5. ↑ Stefanie Peyk, Sarah Neumeyer: Japan wants to overturn whaling ban , SWR aktuell, September 10, 2018.
6. ↑ Deutschlandfunk: The meeting of the whaling commission started on September 11, 2018.