Annual Report of the International Whaling Commission 2001
53rd Annual Meeting, 2001
Resolution 2001-1
Resolution on Transparency within the International Whaling Commission
NOTING that Article 2(2) of the United Nations Charter calls on all member countries to “fulfil in good faith their
obligations”; and that Article 300 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea requires that: “States shall
fulfil in good faith the obligations assumed under this Convention ...”;
ALSO NOTING that Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties requires application of the pacta
sunt servanda (“agreements are to be kept”) rule of international law;
CONSCIOUS that, as set out in the pacta sunt servanda rule, “good faith” requires fairness, reasonableness, integrity
and honesty in international behaviour;
NOTING that the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-
operation Among States in Accordance with the United Nations Charter stipulates that: “No state may use or
encourage the use of economic, political, or any other type of measures to coerce another State in order to obtain
from it the subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights and to secure from it advantages of any kind”;
AWARE of the importance of transparency in international environmental law, and
NOTING that Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration calls upon States to, among other things, “facilitate and encourage
public awareness and participation by making information widely available...”
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
ENDORSES AND AFFIRMS these principles as applicable to the activities of the International Whaling
Commission (IWC) in its implementation of the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW);
STRESSES in particular the importance of adherence to the requirements of good faith and transparency in all
activities undertaken by the IWC and in all activities by Contracting Governments in respect of their involvement
with the IWC;
ENDORSES AND AFFIRMS the complete independence of sovereign countries to decide their own policies and
freely participate in the IWC (and other international forums) without undue interference or coercion from other
sovereign countries.

Resolution 2002-1
Guidance to the Scientific Committee on the Sanctuary review process
RECALLING that amendments to the Schedule, including the establishment of Sanctuaries, require criteria for their
periodic review by the Scientific Committee.
CONVINCED that the establishment of Sanctuaries for conservation purposes represents an integral part of best
management practices for wildlife in general.
NOTING that sanctuaries were established and have been maintained for a number of reasons, of which scientific
considerations, although important, should not be definitive in the validation process. When considering scientific
arguments for sanctuary evaluation, if consensus is not possible, then a precautionary approach should prevail.
RECALLING FURTHER that since 1995, the IWC has recognised the need for a broader understanding of
environmental changes and threats affecting whale stocks in the Antarctic marine ecosystem and recommended the
application of precautionary principles in their discussions. On several occasions there was consistent support within
the SC (2002) for the precautionary approach, specially when dealing with Arctic and Antarctic resource
management. (SC/54/IA7, IA11, IA15, SC/54/E3, E11, E16, SC/54/IA7, IA11, IA18, SC/54/BRG4).
RECOGNISING that if there is no consensus on specific issues within sanctuaries, the Precautionary Approach
should limit the negative impacts of environmental uncertainty (e.g. effects of climate change over sea-ice dynamics
and feeding habitat accessibility and unforeseen problems in the RMP to the other regions where it was applied). In
such cases, currently established sanctuaries complement the provisions of paragraph 10 e) of the Schedule as an
integral management strategy.
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that sanctuaries of appropriate spatial and temporal scales are consistent with the
practice of establishing large-scale areas closed to harvest as essential components of best management practices.
These no-take regions should therefore be regarded independently of any other management actions or the provisions
of paragraph 10(e) of the Schedule to the Convention. The long-term provisions and dimensions of an individual
sanctuary depend on factors other than those determining the Commission's short-term management policy.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE COMMISSION:
INSTRUCTS the Scientific Committee that, in reviewing Sanctuaries, it includes the following principles in addition
to those in the Instructions from the Commission to the Scientific Committee for Review of Sanctuaries approved by
the 53rd Annual Meeting.
1) Temporary overlap of management measures, for example Para 10(e) of the Schedule and a sanctuary, cannot be
used to invalidate any long-term scientific and conservation value of a given Sanctuary.
2) The application of the Precautionary Approach shall be determined in accordance to Principle 15 of the 1992 Rio
Declaration.

Resolution on Use of Simultaneous Interpretation at Annual Meetings
of the International Whaling Commission
RECOGNISING that the composition of the IWC is becoming more diverse in character as more nations for
whom English is not their primary language adhere to the Convention, and that this has led to a multiplicity of
languages placing on the organisation a greater need to accommodate the requirements of all of its members,
including nations for whom English is a second language;
AWARE that the Commissioners, at IWC54 in Shimonoseki, recognised that English remains the official
language of the Commission, and that the use of simultaneous interpretation should be explored to improve
communication at annual meetings;
NOTING that the current system used by several Commissioners is currently one of consecutive interpretation;
CONSIDERING that document IWC/55/F&A 2, provided by the Secretariat, discusses implications for the
provision of technical facilities only, leaving the cost of the more expensive task of engaging and paying for
interpreters to be the responsibility of the delegations requiring them;
AWARE that the cost of providing technical facilities required would be significant;
NOTING that during F&A Committee meetings at IWC55, various contracting parties expressed, with emphasis,
the need for simultaneous interpretation, including the associated technical facilities and interpreter services;
CONSCIOUS of subsequent bilateral consultations between individual Contracting Governments underscoring
their desire for document translation;
MINDFUL that the complete participation of members for whom English is a second language is possible only
through full understanding of the many issues communicated at annual meetings, such understanding being
possible only through a mechanism of interpretation; and
RECALLING that some member countries proposed that a Working Group be established to further explore the
administrative, budgetary and operational implications for the provision of technical components for
simultaneous interpretation.
THE COMMISSION THEREFORE NOW DECIDES
To establish a Working Group aiming at exploring the various implications for the provision of technical
components for simultaneous interpretation;
That the Working Group shall consider and make recommendations on how provision of technical components
for simultaneous interpretation may provided at the IWC to accommodate the needs of contracting parties for
whom English is a second language;
That this Working Group will be guided by the following Terms of Reference:
a) To review and consider the costs as set out in document IWC/55/F&A 2 and to identify ways in which
these costs could be apportioned or reduced;
b) To recommend options and scope for the provision of technical components for simultaneous
interpretation;
c) To determine the operations and costs of other international organizations providing such components;
and
d) To consult with member states on these issues.
That the Working Group, while open to any IWC contracting party, shall ideally remain small, conduct its work
by email correspondence in order to limit expenditures, and submit its recommendations to the F&A Committee
prior to the 56th Annual Meeting.

esolution 2003-3
Resolution on Southern Hemisphere Minke Whales and Special Permit Whaling
NOTING that the Government of Japan continues to issue Special Permits, under the provisions of Article VIII
of the Convention, for lethal scientific research on minke whales in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary (Japan’s
Whale Research Program under Special Permit in Antarctica – JARPA);
RECALLING that the Scientific Committee agreed in 2000 that there was no valid estimate for Southern
Hemisphere minke whales and that there is still no agreed estimate for Southern Hemisphere minke whales;
FURTHER RECALLING concerns expressed in Resolution 2000-4 regarding appreciably lower preliminary
abundance estimates for Southern Hemisphere minke whales;
CONCERNED that the Scientific Committee report of 2001 did not rule out that the Southern Hemisphere
minke whale population may have suffered a precipitous decline over the past decade;
NOTING Resolution 2001-7, which requested that the Scientific Committee provide to the Commission at IWC
54:
(i) a list of plausible hypotheses that may explain this apparent population decline,
(ii) the possible implications that such a decline in abundance may have for the management of minke
whales in the Southern Hemisphere, and for ecologically-related species, in particular other
cetaceans, and the state of the Antarctic marine ecosystem;
FURTHER NOTING that the list of plausible hypotheses reported by the Scientific Committee (IWC/54/4 –
Report of the Scientific Committee) mostly focused on explanations for a decline in abundance estimates rather
than an actual decline in population; and concluded it was most appropriate to fully address the request contained
in Resolution 2001-7 after completing its work on reviewing the IDCR/SOWER abundance estimates, which in
2003 remains incomplete;
RECOGNISING the emerging importance of alternative non-lethal research methodologies such as scat DNA
sampling and biopsy samples;
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION
REQUESTS the Scientific Committee to provide to the Commission, after the completion of the IDCR/SOWER
abundance estimates, all plausible hypotheses to explain any decline in abundance estimates that may emerge,
and in doing so to consider fully:
(i) the possible negative impact of the take of minke whales under Japan’s Research Program in the
Antarctic, including struck and lost data, on the decline in minke whales population estimates; as
well as
(ii) the impact of environmental change factors;
CALLS ON the Government of Japan to halt the JARPA program, or to revise it so that it is limited to non-lethal
research methodologies;
RECOMMENDS that no additional JARPA programs be considered until the Scientific Committee has
completed:
(i) an in-depth review of the results of sixteen years of JARPA;
(ii) its review of the abundance estimates for Southern Hemisphere minkes; and
(iii) the actions requested above
and that any such programs should be limited to non-lethal research.

Resolution on Whaling under Special Permit
AWARE that Article VIII of the ICRW allows contracting Governments to grant Special Permits for purposes of
scientific research on whales;
NOTING that Article VIII of the ICRW was drafted and accepted by States Parties in 1946, at a time when few
alternatives to lethal investigations existed, a situation drastically different from today;
RECALLING that since the adoption of the moratorium on commercial whaling in 1985/1986, the IWC has
adopted over 30 resolutions on special permit whaling in which it has expressed its opinion that special permit
whaling should: only be permitted in exceptional circumstances (1995-8 and 9); meet critically important
research needs (1987); satisfy criteria established by the Scientific Committee; be consistent with the
Commission’s conservation policy (1987/1); be conducted using non lethal research techniques (1995-9); and
ensure the conservation of whales in sanctuaries (1995-8);
RECALLING in particular that the Commission has expressed serious concern at the possibility of whaling for
scientific purposes assuming the characteristics of commercial whaling (1985/2);
RECALLING also that the Commission has stated that the meat and products of special permit whaling should
be utilised entirely for domestic consumption (IWC1994-7) and that any commercial international trade in whale
products obtained from research whaling undermines the effectiveness of the IWC’s conservation programme
(1994-7);
CONCERNED that over 7,500 whales have been taken in special permit whaling operations since the
moratorium on commercial whaling entered into force and there is no complete record as to how many whales
have been struck and lost;
AWARE that whales caught in Japan’s special permit operations provide over 3,000 tonnes of edible products
per year that are sold for commercial purposes;
NOTING that Iceland has presented a programme to the Commission which would allow the killing of 250
whales (100 minke, 100 fin and 50 sei whales) a year for two years in a Special Permit whaling operation that
would provide over 4000 tonnes of edible products;
NOTING that there has never been a formal assessment of sei whales in Icelandic waters, that considerable
concern was expressed during the discussions of the Scientific Committee with regard to the status of this
population, and that the take of 50 sei whales under the Icelandic feasibility programme would likely threaten its
recovery;
RECOGNISING that considerable information on feeding ecology collected by Iceland under its previous
Special Permit suggests that fin and sei whale diet is comprised principally of krill and that genetic analysis of
whale scats would provide an ideal non-lethal method for determining prey shifts in their diet;
NOTING with concern that most of the data collected under Iceland’s previous Special Permit has not yet been
published; that most whales killed under that previous permit were exported; and that thousands of archival
tissue samples are currently available which could enable the completion of this feasibility programme.
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION
EXPRESSES deep concern that the provision permitting special permit whaling enables countries to conduct
whaling for commercial purposes despite the moratorium on commercial whaling;
STATES that the current and proposed Special Permit whaling operations represent an act contrary to the spirit
of the moratorium on commercial whaling and to the will of the Commission;
STATES that Article VIII of the Convention is not intended to be exploited in order to provide whale meat for
commercial purposes and shall not be so used;2
REAFFIRMS that non-lethal techniques available today will usually provide better data at less cost to both
animals and budget;
URGES any country conducting or considering the conduct of Special Permit whaling to terminate or not
commence such activities and to limit scientific research to non-lethal methods only.

WHEREAS the first objective of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling is “the interest of the nations of
the world in safeguarding for future generations the great natural resources represented by the whale stocks”;
MINDFUL that, given the depleted status of great whale populations at the inception of the IWC, and that during the last 25
years, the International Whaling Commission has devoted a overwhelming part of its work to the pursuit of that conservation
objective;
NOTING that, through the adoption of more than a hundred conservation-oriented resolutions(1), as well as through various
Schedule amendments, the Commission has evolved into an organization internationally recognized, among other things, for
its meaningful contributions to the conservation of great whales; furthering that conservation work through those Resolutions
and Schedule amendments, the Commission has gradually developed an extensive conservation-oriented agenda(2);
NOTING that since the Convention came into force in 1948 several key conventions have been adopted which may affect
great whales, including, inter alia, UNLOS, CITES, IOC, ICSU, the CBD, CMS, ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS;
RECOGNIZING the various challenges referred to in previous Resolutions and Schedule Amendments, it is prudent for the
Commission to effectively organize its future work in the pursuit of its objective by devising an appropriate agenda that
places special emphasis on its benefits to conservation.
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
WELCOMES initiatives to assess the achievements and orientation of the cumulative work of the Commission in the pursuit
of its conservation objective;
ENDORSES the proposals made by various Contracting Governments to organize, on the basis of that assessment, the
future Conservation Agenda of the Commission and to cooperate in its preparation;
DECIDES to establish a Conservation Committee of the Commission, composed of all Contracting Parties, in conformity
with Article III paragraph 4 of the Convention;
DECIDES to entrust the Conservation Committee with:
(1) The preparation and recommendation to the Commission of its future Conservation Agenda, taking full account of
this Resolution;
(2) The implementation of those items in the Agenda that the Commission may refer to it and
(3) Making recommendations to the Commission in order to maintain and update the Conservation Agenda on a
continuing basis.
INSTRUCTS the Conservation Committee to meet before the Commission’s Annual Meeting in 2004, in order to organize
its work, so that the Conservation Agenda can be considered for adoption by the Commission at that Annual Meeting.
DIRECTS the Conservation Committee to explore how the Commission can coordinate its conservation agenda through
greater collaboration with a wider range of other organizations and conventions including inter alia CMS, CCAMLR, IMO,
IUCN, and UNEP.
REQUESTS the Scientific Committee to advise the Conservation Committee in the performance of the tasks entrusted to it
in this Resolution, and to ensure that the appropriate scientific research items, including inter alia, whalewatching,
environmental issues and behavioural research, under the responsibility of the Scientific Committee, are incorporated in the
Conservation Agenda.2
REQUESTS the Conservation Committee to begin exploring the possible establishment, by the Commission, of an
appropriate trust fund (including the identification of potential contributors), to make available the necessary financial
resources to the Commission and, particularly, to the Contracting Governments committed to implementing specific items of
the Conservation Agenda related to conservation-oriented research. To that end, the Committee shall give priority to the
question of securing assistance for scientific research and capacity building for scientists and institutions from developing
countries, and shall take advantage from the experiences obtained in other international environmental and conservation
conventions and treaties, in the establishment of similarly-oriented international funds.
DIRECTS the Secretariat to prepare a report, to be considered by the Commission at its next annual meeting, on the
implementation of Resolution 1998-6 regarding the establishment of a dedicated “Environment Research Fund” to facilitate
research on environmental change and cetaceans, as well as on the results of the appeal it made in its Resolution 1999-5 “to
the Contracting Governments, other governments, international organizations and other bodies to contribute financially an in
kind” to research programs, and to include in that report a recommendation to the Commission, as to how that Fund could
best be considered in the light of the possible establishment of the trust fund referred to in the previous paragraph

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Resolution 2004-7
RESOLUTION ON THE FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS OF THE
INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION
AWARE that the Rules of Procedure of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) provide for a regular
Annual Meeting of the Commission, and that the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair of the IWC shall serve
for a period of three years;
NOTING that other international Conventions dealing with fisheries, species, biodiversity and the
environment organise their affairs very effectively on the basis of biennial or triennial meetings;
CONCERNED that the costs of the annual meetings of the IWC are increasing from year to year;
NOTING that many Contracting Parties, especially from developing countries, have difficulty in meeting the
high costs of attending annual meetings of the Commission;
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION HEREBY DECIDES:
That the principle of meetings of the IWC being held less frequently than regular Annual Meetings be
explored;
That, in applying this principle, the intention should be to avoid holding more frequent inter-sessionary
meetings as a counter-balancing measure;
That a working group be established by the Commission to investigate and make recommendations on the
implications of less frequent meetings of the IWC;
That, in its deliberations, the working group should have particular regard to the implications of less frequent
meetings for the term of office of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Commission; for the work of the other
Committees of the IWC; and, with specific regard to the deliberations of the Scientific Committee, that the
group should examine whether the current pattern of holding annual meetings should be maintained in the
initial years of the new arrangements at least;
That the working group should report to IWC 57 in Ulsan, Republic of Korea.

RESOLUTION ON COMPLETION OF THE REVISED MANAGEMENT SCHEME (RMS)
RECOGNISING the dual mandate of the IWC for the conservation of whales and the management of
whaling according to the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling;
NOTING that on this basis, considerable progress has been made in identifying major elements necessary to
reach broad agreement on the RMS, as reflected in the Chairman’s Proposal for a Way Forward on the RMS
(Doc IWC/56/26);
TAKING NOTE of the comments of Contracting Parties on the Chairman’s Proposal at the 56th Annual
Meeting of the Commission;
CONCERNED that the failure to reach broad agreement on the RMS in the near future may seriously
jeopardise the ability of the IWC to fulfil its responsibilities;
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
COMMENDS the efforts of the Chairman in providing a basis for further work and discussion towards
finalizing the RMS;
AGREES to re-establish the Working Group on the RMS with a view to holding an intersessional meeting
prior to IWC/57, as outlined in the attached Intersessional Plan of Work.
AGREES to proceed expeditiously towards the completion of both the drafting of text and technical details
of the RMS according to the attached Intersessional Plan of Work with the aim of having the results ready
for consideration, including for possible adoption, at IWC57, and/or to identify any outstanding policy and
technical issues.

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Resolution 2004-5
RESOLUTION ON POSSIBLE SYNERGIES WITH THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY.
COGNIZANT of the need to have strong supporting relationships with other international bodies that deal
with subject matter with a strong overlapping interest,
RECOGNISING Paragraph 121 of the 2002 Plan of Implementation from the World Summit on Sustainable
Development which called for an ‘Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development’ which would be
strengthened by:
“Increasing effectiveness and efficiency through limiting overlap and duplication of activities of
international organizations, within and outside of the United Nations system, based on their mandates
and comparative advantages.”
APPRECIATIVE of the International Whaling Commissions long standing interactions with, inter alia,
CITES, CMS & CCAMLR,
DESIROUS to support synergies between overlapping conventions so as to improve mutually reinforcing
scientific, administrative, policy and financial assistance objectives,
CONSCIOUS of the need to fully support the respective primacy of each organization.
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
DIRECTS the Secretariat to establish high level contact with the Secretariat of the Global Environment
Facility and to:
explore possible synergies and their possible utility of the GEF to the IWC, and investigate, inter alia,
possible avenues for the utilization of GEF funding for IWC related projects, with specific regard to:
(i) Assistance for developing countries for scientific research and policies for scientific research,
as directed by the IWC.
(ii) The utility in joint projects seeking funding with other international organizations, such as,
inter alia, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on Migratory Species, the
World Heritage Convention, and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands,
(iii) An examination of the modalities that the GEF seeks to satisfy and whether IWC projects,
now or in the future, could be made to fit such objectives.
The Secretariat shall report back to the 57th IWC meeting on these matters.

Resolution 2004-4
PROPOSAL TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE SPECIAL POSITION OF VERY SMALL
COUNTRIES IN CALCULATING FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
NOTING that contracting parties should contribute financially to the Commission in a fair and
equitable manner;
RECOGNISING that two contracting parties that currently belong to capacity-to-pay Group 3,
according to the Interim Measure for calculating contributions, are very small countries with a very
small population, and thus a much smaller Gross National Income than the other countries that belong
to that Group;
ALSO RECOGNISING that in all other international organisations the special position of these two
countries is properly taken into account in the calculation of financial contributions.
RECOGNISING further that taking account of the special position of these countries within the IWC
should not affect the financial contributions of those contracting parties that have the least capacity to
pay, and thus belong to Group 1 according to the Interim Measure for calculating contributions;
NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION:
DECIDES that, under the Interim Measure for calculating contributions, Monaco and San Marino are
transferred from capacity-to-pay Group 3 to Group 2;
FURTHER DECIDES that this transfer shall have no effect on the contribution of contracting
parties that belong to capacity-to-pay Group 1.
 

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