(from "Chair's Report of the 55th Annual Meeting")

Votes can be taken by show of hands, or by roll call, as in the opinion of the Chairman appears to be most suitable, or by secret ballot if requested by a Commissioner and seconded by at least five other Commissioners except that on any matter related to aboriginal subsistence whaling, voting by secret ballot shall only be used when all the Commissioners representing the Contracting Parties where the aboriginal subsistence take or takes will occur requests the use of a secret ballot and where such requests are seconded by at least five other Commissioners.

Japan considered that in addition to being available for electing the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Commission, appointing the Secretary of the Commission and selecting Annual Meeting venues, voting by secret ballot should be possible for setting catch limits and deciding other regulatory measures. It again noted that the secret ballot is a system commonly used in other international organisations including fisheries management bodies, and that its broader application within IWC would help implement Resolution 2001-1² that, inter alia '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.' Japan urged Contracting Governments to act consistently with other international organisations.

3.2 Commission discussions and action arising
The Republic of Guinea, Iceland, Norway, St. Lucia and the Solomon Islands spoke in support of the proposal. Iceland considered that it should be a general principle of democratic elections that votes are secret so that outside pressures cannot be applied. As last year, Norway believed that transparency should be employed wherever possible but could support Japan's proposal given the real threats of coercion and intimidation surrounding the whaling debate. St. Lucia and the Solomon Islands made similar remarks.

Speaking against the proposal, Monaco noted that all countries are subject to pressure, but that it is important that civil societies know how their representatives vote. New Zealand agreed with Monaco and considered that a move to secret ballots would be a big step backwards in the democratisation of international affairs. The Netherlands also supported transparency in voting procedures.

On being put to a vote, the proposal failed to achieve a majority and was therefore not adopted. There were 19 votes in support of the proposal, 26 against and 1 abstention.

¹ Ann. Rep. Whaling Comm 2001:8 and 2002:8
² Ann. Rep. Whaling Comm 2001: 54

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