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Buenos Aires, June 22nd, 2011.
As in several previous meetings, Argentina was the venue of the VIII Buenos Aires Group (GBA) Meeting which took place at the Palacio San Martín, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Internacional y Culto between June 21st and 22nd.
A few weeks before the start of the next International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting that will be held in Jersey, Great Britain between July 5th and 14th, Buenos Aires city was the framework for the holding of this meeting which was attended by representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Mexico and Uruguay.
This group, since its inception in 2005, consists of Latin American countries forming a regional bloc within the IWC with a strong conservationist position.
This meeting also had instances of open participation to NGO’s representatives, some of which in a joint way and through a letter, expressed their support to the GBA and concerns in this new stage that begins, after last year the negotiation process that had been set out some time ago failed.(To see the document submitted by the NGOs click here).
As far as they are concern, the GBA members reiterated in a press release their commitment to conservation of whales, the validity of the commercial whaling moratorium, the end of the scientific and under objection whaling, the promotion of non-lethal use of whales, the respect for the integrity of Sanctuaries, the establishment of the South Atlantic Sanctuary and the strong opposition to the international trade in whale meat and its derivatives, at the same time that they expressed their support to the adoption of changes to the IWC rules that allow a greater participation of the civil society in the discussions of that commission.
Fundación Cethus has supported the creation of this group since its inception and celebrates this new meeting working as an NGO of the region and together with other organizations of Argentina and Latin America to achieve the consolidation of a conservationist stance at the regional level, which has been highlighting slowly but steadily in the last IWC meetings.
For more information about the IWC and/or the GBA click here |
