Radioactive Waste Disposal at Sea: Public Ideas ... - IMO

126 Chapter 7
committed to recommendations agreed to at the conference. This was so
because the Stockholm secretariat managed the ocean dumping issue in
such a way that the international community’s willingness to protect the
environment came to be at stake in the negotiations. “And naturally,” one
experienced negotiator said caustically, “everyone wants to see at least one
treaty result from a Conference as heralded in advance as Stockholm is”
(Mendelsohn 1972, p. 391). 28 As was pointed out earlier, the convention
would establish the first global regime for environmental management to
embody the success of the Stockholm conference. 29
An internal secretariat memo from Peter Thacher to Strong, dated
December 20, 1971, detailed the Stockholm secretariat’s intense involvement
in enhancing the conference’s visibility. Moreover, heavy emphasis
was put on advocating policies that were flexible and dynamic. Among
other things, the memo said the following:
• The primary task between now and June is to refine and sell the product; get
negotiations started leading to favourable action by Governments at Stockholm.
The Prepcom [Preparatory Committee] session in March should be used to start a
planned promotion campaign.
• In order to plan the campaign that is it to get underway at the Prepcom we need
to identify major target governments, i.e., those from whom support is critical, and
draw up a plan for each government identifying the points of influence, both official
and private (including mass media) which should be approached, as well as all
assets, “friends,” available to assist.
• The plan should also take into account various international meetings at which
the promotional material can usefully be presented. With regard to specific subjects
such as marine pollution, there may be regional and other meetings of importance
at which our participation will be useful. We need to consider whether further work
along the lines of our proposals can be advanced before Stockholm.
• Immediately after a final review of experience gained at the Prepcom the planned
promotional activity by staff, consultants, and “friends” should be launched.
• Essential to the above promotion campaign is the dynamic quality of the actions
proposed; they are not being presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, they are subject
to modification both before and, if necessary, at Stockholm.
To “sell the product” (that is, the conference’s conceptual framework
and the proposed actions), the secretariat planned a global “promotion
campaign” and prepared and distributed “promotional material.” International
mass media played a crucial role in focusing global attention on
the conference and thereby on the environment, thus increasing domestic
pressure on governments.