Japan MUST be Expelled from the International Whaling Commission |
 IWC London 2004 |
By Graham J. Clarke
26 May, 2005
When it comes down to the smooth running of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and it's orderly administration which country is the most disruptive? Which country gives aid money for votes? Which country takes up far too much time at meetings? Which country consistantly ignores the wishes of the Commission? Which country still kills whales?
Japan!
When it comes down to who wants to kill whales, on a per capita basis, the details are quite astounding. It makes one wonder how a small group of people can disrupt a perfectly good international organisation and simply "buck the system".
The IWC has 60 member countries.
On issues of whaling Japan gathers together a number of small member countries (with small populations) to increase its voting power.
Why? because each member country has one (1) vote regardless of the country's population size. In other words, for example, the USA gets one vote for 289 million people and Tavalu gets one vote for 11 thousand people.
| 149,000,000 | USA | |
| 11,000 | Tavalu | The difference is amazing! |
 Japan's IWC Delegates |
Japan (a Pro whaling country) and it's followers will regularly, for voting purposes, amass 16 countries (ie 16 votes) with a total population count of 149 million out of a world total of 6,122 million people. Anti-whaling and abstaining member countries totalling 44 have a combined population total of 3,812 million people.
| 289,000,000 | Pro whaling |
| 3812,000 000 | Anti whaling & abstaining |
These are the percentages:
The Pro whaling people (those who's governments vote to kill whales) = 149 M or 2.5% of the world's population.
The rest (those who's governments vote against whaling or have no opinion) = 3,812 M or 62.25%
The remainder of the world's population (those who have no vote at all) = 35.25% (Among these are some of the poorest countries in the world)
Often, there are abstaining countries who vote with Japan but the numbers never, ever, come close to half the people represented by the IWC.
There you have it! Whales die because roughly 2.5% of the people on earth want to eat them!
That's rude! Expel Japan from the IWC!
 Minke Whale hauled aboard Nissin Maru |
After Japan is expelled from the IWC and it sends whalers to the Antarctic to slaughter whales it will be bound by a much stricter Law than the inadequate rules of the IWC. It will be bound by the Antarctic Treaty.
Currently, the Antarctic Authority regards the IWC as a more competent authority in relation to cetaceans and lets the IWC administer it's own member countries while in regions covered by the Treaty. But when Japan is expelled from the IWC it will be bound by the Antarctic Treaty whenever it enters Antarctic waters.
First off, the Preamble to the Antarctic Treaty states: "Recognizing that it is in the interest of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord."
Japan is creating international discord!
Article IX, 1 states: "Representatives of the Contracting Parties. . . shall. . . for the purpose of. . . formulating and considering, and recommending to their Governments, measures in furtherance of the principles and objectives of the Treaty, including measures regarding: f) preservation and conservation of living resources in Antarctica."
Japan's whaling cannot and does not preserve or conserve!
That is why Japan MUST be expelled from the IWC.