Buenos Aires, Argentina - IUCN

The delegation of the Fisheries Agency of Japan, an Observer at the General
Assembly, made the following statement for the record:
"We believe that it is essential to ensure rational utilization of
wildlife including marine living resources on the basis of the
principle of sustainable development as agreed at the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development. It is no
doubt that the long-term mission of IUCN concurs with this
principle.
"As regard the Antarctic sanctuary, the IWC Scientific Committee
members are of the view that the sanctuary proposal lacks scientific
grounds.
"In a similar vein, such organizations as the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the Scientific Committee
on Antarctic Research (SCAR) consider that the sanctuary proposal
has no significance from a scientific point of view and utilization
of the Antarctic minke whale under the Revised Management
Procedure (RMP) at least will cause no adverse impact on the
minke whale stock or those of other whale species.
"Further, the lack of scientific ground to this proposal is also
evident from the fact that its sponsor, the French Government,
itself openly admitted that the proposal is not scientifically based
but political.
"Thus the sanctuary proposal is nothing more than a disguised
attempt to undermine the sustainable use of abundant minke
whales under the RMP.
"For this reason, this Recommendation is not totally acceptable.
If IUCN adopts this Recommendation, it will impair IUCN's
credibility."
The Inuit Brotherhood of Canada asked that it be recorded they would have
abstained had there been a vote and the Inuit Circumpolar Conference that they
would have voted against.
19.80 - 19.90 Recommendations on conservation in Australia
After these Recommendations had been adopted as a block and a number of
State member delegations had recorded their abstentions, the Legal Adviser
stated that all motions have to pass in both "Houses", and asked the President
to ascertain whether these Recommendations commanded a majority among
Category A members. The President did not accede to this request, saying he
saw no reason to solicit statements from State members who did not feel
obliged to make them.
19.96 Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
The delegation of State member United Kingdom made the following statement:
"The UK State member delegation came to this General Assembly
in a spirit of cooperation hoping to secure agreed texts by
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