The
Grand Opening in the Grand (upside-down) Hotel
At a few minutes after 10am on Monday 15th
September, IWC the sixty fifth meeting opens.
In
which Chair Jeannine is Strict and Ministers make speeches
Delegates have been milling outside the
great hall generally getting in each other’s way and trying to overhear each
other’s key strategic discussions. There are some TV vans outside and a few
journalists moving swiftly through the big crowd of several hundred people
looking for charismatic mega-fauna, like ministers or the Commissioners of
Japan or Australia. A small group of European Union officials wait nearby in
case they need to leap into action if any European Union nation breaks away the
The Agreed Position.
The great meeting room in the Grand meeting
hotel is in fact a vast roman-type amphitheater with delegations playing the
roles of gladiators for the entertainment of the spectators perched above on a
raised tier of remarkably comfortable seats. From here they look down on the
national delegates (the IWC Commissioners and their teams) sitting behind their
flags. These poor souls are sitting in remarkably uncomfortable seats (to quote
a colleague, this is the ‘Ryan Air of delegate seating’).
Only the two lead
delegates have a table on which they have their flag and name plate and can
rest their papers, heads and so forth. Lesser delegates have to learn to
balance notebooks, computers, translation devices and such on their knees and
in their pockets and as we progress the whole meeting is peppered with what
rapidly becomes the recognizable sound of headsets being dropped and gentle
accompany cursing.
The Slovenian Commissioner, Andrej Bibic,
acts as compare for the opening and introduces the Slovenian ministers who make
some speeches about the landscape and fish and generally welcome everyone.
Minister Karl Erjavec, the Minister of Foreign affairs notes in his speech that
we should listen to the views of experts and NGOs and this is warmly received.
Tanja Strnista, Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Enviornment addresses us
next . Amongst other things she speaks of the famous local caves and
compliments the IWC Secretariat’s professional work is (these two matters are
not directly linked).
Peter Bossman the major of Piran then
greets us and speaks of the beauty of Piran and depleting whale numbers and
urges the IWC to come to some agreement as to how to regulate whaling before
there are no whales left.
Simon Brockington, the executive secretary
of the IWC thanks Slovenia back for acting as host and praises the venue. He
adds that it is a particular pleasure to welcome so many observer organisation,
whose contributions [probably verbal but he may have meant fiscal – or possibly
both] he is looking forward to. He notes that in the last two years , the IWC
has held over 30 working groups and stresses that the IWC is not just an
international organisation but a global one. He also acknowledges over half a
million British pounds in voluntary contributions to the work of the IWC. He is
warmly applauded.
Finally, we come to the last speaker, the
Chair of the IWC, Jeannine Compton-Antoine – a lot of what she wanted to say
she says has been said, she says, but she thanks the secretariat and praises
the location.
The first agenda item is the Credentials
committee which consists of Japan, New Zealand and the Secretariat and all
countries have their papers in order. The Exec Sec then reads off a long list
of who does not have voting rights and this includes Cyprus, Mali, Mauritania,
Portugal and the Solomon Islands.
Madam Chair next explains strictly that she
will only allow limited debate and if it was previously said in a working group,
it need not be said again. Commissioners are encouraged to associate with
others. NGOs will be allowed to contribute to the debate if there is time; they
must provide a list of who will speak in advance, after they have coordinated
among themselves.
She reminds us that all documents are
available on the website and moved to the adoption of the agenda which has some
small changes.
There is a pause to see if there are any
issues. Jannine looks at Simon; Simon looks at Jannine. Nothing happens and
the agenda is adopted.
Toshide Kitakado, the Chair of the
Scientific Committee then presents the work of the Scientific Committee over
the last two years via a series of power-point slides that I will post seperately, for
those that like that kind of thing,in a separate report.
He notes there was some disagreement on how
the review of JARPAII (Japan’s now infamous whaling programme in Antarctica)
should be handled – and we are directed to see the relevant statements in the
report. (There is no power-point slide about this). Finally the SC chair (in
what is only a twenty minute item covering two annual reports from the
Scientific Committee and all the work in between) notes that for more
information he, or Greg Donovan (Secretariat Head of Science) or Caterina Fortuna Vice Chair of the
Scientific Committee can, be approached in the breaks.
And then we move to start the serious
business of the day with the report on Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling.
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