| On the second day of the 63th IWC, after a prolonged closed-door session that took up much of the meeting, a proposal submitted by the United Kingdom with measures that are expected to achieve greater transparency within the IWC, was finally adopted by consensus after strong accusations of corruption that although always circulated as rumors, last year gained more strength and significance.
This resolution passed today with amendments, aims to turn more transparent the procedures of the IWC. One of the most controversial procedures was the one that allowed Member States of the IWC to pay its annual quota by check or cash, rather than, as most of these international bodies use to, through a neater bank transfer.
Among other measures included on this proposal of governance of the IWC, there was also the initiative to allow a greater participation of NGOs in the discussions of the Commission. This subject was rejected by many members and ended up being eliminated of the accepted amended resolution.
As part of the NGOs that have been working for many years on IWC’s issues, we are pleased that the necessary measurements to ensure greater transparency in certain procedures of the Commission have been passed, but we still believe, like many countries that yesterday raised their voices -among which were those from our region- that a greater participation of NGOs is necessary in the discussions of this international forum, as is a common practice in other highly relevant fora.
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