(from "Chairman's Report of the Forty-Ninth 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. Votes shall be taken by secret ballots when this request is made by a Contracting Governmet and seconded by three or more Contracting Governments.

In the Finance and Adnlinistration Committee, Japan suggested referring discussion of this Item to the meeting of the Commission, and the Committee agreed.

In the Plenary, Japan explained that this was a measure to protect the sovereign rights of Contracting Governments in the democratic process. Governments were being subjected to undue pressures; it was aware of the need for transparency and, while votes need not be public, this proposal would not prevent members from disclosing the way they vote.

In the ensuing discussion there were a number of statements in support of the proposal, including by St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and St Vincent and The Grenadines, because of the economic victimisation they experienced from some NGOs and Governments. Other delegations, including Brazil, Denmark, New Zealand, USA and the Netherlands, opposed the idea. Yet others, such as the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Argentina, Norway and the UK, sought a consensus and urged care in deciding. The matter was then adjoumed for further consultations.

Following the divergence of views expressed by delegations over this proposal, a small discussion group, under the chairmanship of the Commissioner for Argentina and comprising representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Dominica, Japan, Norway, St Lucia and the UK was formed to consider options for taking the matter forward. Members of the group reiterated the views their delegations had expressed in Plenary but agreed that they should attempt to find a constructive solution. Accordingly, it was suggested that Contracting Governments might wish to consider the following proposal:

(a)

that further discussion and consideration of this issue at this meeting of the IWC be deferred;

(b)

meanwhile,

(i)

interested Contracting Governments are invited to submit information on voting practices and rules of procedure used in international fora;

(ii)

request the Secretariat to write to international organisations, with which the IWC has established links, in order to gather information on voting procedures including the use of secret ballots;

(c)

that the Commission should refer this additional information, together with the proposal for an amendment to Section E.3(d) of the Rules of Procedure, to the Finance and Administration Committee with a view to consideration and disposal of this issue at the IWC's 50th Annual Meeting in Oman.

This proposal was accepted by the Commission.

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