IWC in Adelaide Delivers a Little Progress
but Raises Questions of Ethics

Adelaide, Australia - 6 July 2000: IWMC - World Conservation Trust President, Mr. Eugene Lapointe, declared that another IWC has almost passed and regretfully will conclude without an agreed and finalised comprehensive management plan for controlled and limited whaling.

"Much valuable time and emotion has been wasted in Adelaide this week debating the failed proposal for a South Pacific Sanctuary which ultimately would have delivered no real gains for the effective conservation and management of whales," he said.

"After Senator Hill's Sanctuary proposal was soundly defeated, the IWC Conference failed to complete a RMS and a deadlock ensues," the President said.

"Despite what the Trust sees as some progress here in Adelaide in the promotion of the sustainable use of wild resources as a conservation mechanism, the hypocrisy and ethical standards of some participating nations was disturbing and raises serious questions," he said.

"The mysterious and as yet unexplained absence at the vote on the South Pacific Sanctuary of the Solomon Islands on Tuesday requires further investigation," he said.

"Why did they go?" he asks

"An investigation into this must be initiated and followed through for reporting to the 53rd IWC Conference in London in 2001," he said

"This mysterious event follows concerns in 1994 regarding threats to Switzerland by the United States over the World Trade Organisation's headquarters proposed for that country shortly before the vote on the Southern Hemisphere Sanctuary where Switzerland's intention was to vote against the Sanctuary (the USA voted in support of sanctuaries in 1994 and in 2000), and in 1999 concerns by Barbados about pressure being exerted on it by fellow Commonwealth nations via the OECD," Mr. Lapointe said.

"These are all very serious matters that need to be addressed," he declared.

"The Trust asks whether serious breaches in generally accepted principles of international relations and diplomacy have occurred in Adelaide this week?" he said.

"In sum, the indicators have been positive that obstruction of the RMS - the only logical way forward to the controlled conservation of whales and the orderly development of the whaling industry - appears to be waning," he said.

"The World Conservation Trust, as the world's foremost advocate for the sustainable use of nature's resources and mutual respect for the benefits of humans, wildlife and wildplaces alike, looks forward to the 53rd IWC Conference in London where we hope the RMS will finally be completed," he concluded.�