Entry into force and implementation of the 1993 torremolinos protocol
THE ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Assembly in relation to regulations and guidelines concerning maritime safety,
BEING DEEPLY CONCERNED that the conditions for the entry into force of the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993 relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977 (hereinafter referred to as the Torremolinos Protocol) have, fourteen years after its adoption, still not been met owing to the fact that an insufficient number of Governments with the required aggregate number of fishing vessels under their flag have so far deposited with the Secretary-General instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to enable it to enter into force,
RECALLING ALSO resolution A.925(22) on Entry into force and implementation of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol and the 1995 STCW-F Convention, by means of which it urged Governments to consider accepting the two instruments at the earliest opportunity and requested the Maritime Safety Committee to review the situation concerning their entry into force and, in the light of such review, to take action as it deemed appropriate,
WELCOMING the outcome of the Seminar on the Implementation of the Torremolinos Protocol, held in Beijing, People’s Republic of China, in September 2004, which, having identified technical and other difficulties encountered in relation to the implementation of the Protocol, recommended solutions to address them,
WELCOMING ALSO the outcome of the second session of the Joint FAO/IMO Ad Hoc Working Group on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Related Matters, held in Rome, Italy, from 16 to 18 July 2007, which, having considered the options suggested in a legal study presented at the said session and aimed at facilitating the entry into force of the Protocol, recommended that such options should be further explored, in particular the possibility of preparing a draft agreement relating to the implementation of the Torremolinos Protocol with a view to its adoption by an appropriate IMO body,
HAVING NOTED the decisions of the Maritime Safety Committee, at its eighty-third session, on the outcome of the aforementioned session of the Joint FAO/IMO Ad Hoc Working Group,
REMAINING CONVINCED that the continuing and alarmingly high number of fishers’ lives and of fishing vessels reported lost every year could be substantially reduced by global, uniform and effective implementation of the Torremolinos Protocol, the entry into force of which would make a significant contribution to maritime safety in general and that of fishing vessels in particular:
- REITERATES ITS STRONG RECOMMENDATION to Governments to consider ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the Torremolinos Protocol at the earliest possible opportunity;
- INVITES Governments to consider the feasibility of establishing uniform regional standards, as called for in article 3(5) of the Torremolinos Protocol, communicating to the Organization any such action for circulation to other Parties to the Protocol for information;
- ENDORSES the decision of the Maritime Safety Committee, at its eighty-third session, to explore the options recommended by the second session of the Joint FAO/IMO Ad Hoc Working Group on Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing and Related Matters to facilitate and expedite the earliest possible entry into force of the Torremolinos Protocol, and encourages the Committee to take any action it may deem necessary and appropriate towards such an end;
- REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee to review the situation concerning entry into force of the Torremolinos Protocol and, in the light of such review, to take action as it deems appropriate;
- REQUESTS the Secretary-General to take any such additional measures as may be required aimed at assisting Member Governments in the process of becoming Parties to, and implementing, the Torremolinos Protocol.