vote buying

What happened at the International Whaling Commission 2016 meeting

Posted by Willie — 28 October 2016 at 4:48pm - Comments
Image of a whale's fluke (tail)
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace

The International Whaling Commission meeting 2016 has just come to a close. Delegates from 64 countries spent a week discussing and debating whales, in Potoroz, Slovenia.
Greenpeace’s international team was there, and here’s a quick roundup of what happened.

Article tagged as: biodiversity, commercial whaling, ecosystems, International Whaling Commission, IWC, oceans, plankton, SAWS, scientific whaling, vaquita, vote buying, whale poo, whales, whaling

Greenpeace calls for conservation not exploitation as the IWC 2004 gets under way

Last edited 16 July 2004 at 8:00am
16 July, 2004

The 56th meeting of the IWC (International Whaling Commission) is due to take place next week, 19th to the 22nd July in Sorrento, Italy.

Oceans in crisis

Article tagged as: IWC, japan, oceans, press releases, vote buying, whaling

The International Whaling Commission

Last edited 13 August 2003 at 8:00am
Humpback whale

Humpback whale

Article tagged as: IWC, japan, norway, oceans, sanctuaries, vote buying, whaling

Increasing environmental threats to whale populations exposed as IWC is overshadowed by Japanese vote buying

Last edited 27 July 2001 at 8:00am
27 July, 2001

As the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting ended in London today, Greenpeace stressed that Japanese vote buying (1) has prevented vital steps from being taken to protect the world's remaining whale populations, such as the creation of South Pacific and South Atlantic whale sanctuaries. Greenpeace also warned that the threats posed to all whale populations by man- made environmental degradation of the oceans are being grossly under estimated. (2)

Article tagged as: IWC, japan, oceans, press releases, vote buying, whaling

Greenpeace urges Norway to condemn Japanese vote buying

Last edited 24 July 2001 at 8:00am
Greenpeace action against whaling in NorwayAs the International Whaling Commission meets in London this week, Greenpeace urged the Norwegian Prime Minister to publicly distance Norway from its traditional pro-whaling ally, Japan.


This follows last week's startling admission from a senior Japanese official that Japan has been using development aid to buy votes at the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Article tagged as: IWC, london, norway, oceans, sanctuaries, vote buying, whaling

Vote Buying: Japan's strategy to secure a return to large-scale whaling

Last edited 23 July 2001 at 8:00am
Publication date: 
23 July, 2001

Japan's agenda within the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is self-evident - it wants a return to large-scale commercial whaling and is prepared to go to extreme lengths to achieve its goal. Unable to persuade the IWC to lift the current moratorium on commercial whaling Japan has, since the early 1990s, been openly operating a "vote consolidation operation"1 . The primary purpose of this operation is to recruit new member states to the IWC that will vote with Japan in favour of commercial whaling.

Download the report:
Article tagged as: IWC, japan, reports, vote buying, whaling

Iceland fail in bid to rejoin IWC without abiding by whaling ban

Last edited 23 July 2001 at 8:00am
IWC53: Watching the whalers

IWC53: Watching the whalers

IWC conference update: day 1

The first item on the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) agenda today was a long and complicated attempt by Iceland (backed by Japan, Norway and the at least nine countries whose votes Japan has very obviously bought) to re-join the IWC while rejecting the moratorium on whaling implemented by the IWC in 1986.

Luckily, even after a series of votes and legal manouvres by the pro-whaling nations, this was unsucessful! Iceland meantime made their intentions clear - saying that they wanted the moratorium on whaling overturned as quickly as possible so that whaling can resume.

Article tagged as: iceland, IWC, moratorium, oceans, vote buying, whaling

Japan admits buying whaling votes in exchange for aid

Last edited 19 July 2001 at 8:00am
19 July, 2001

Greenpeace today expressed no surprise at the admission by a senior official of the Fisheries Agency of Japan, Maseyuku Komatsu, that Japan has been using overseas aid to secure support for its campaign to have the current international ban on whaling lifted.

The admission comes just a week before the start of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) conference in London (1). IWC countries already recruited by Japan through vote buying include six East Caribbean states, (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis), and Guinea. Panama and Morocco have joined the IWC this year and are also expected to vote alongside Japan.

Article tagged as: antigua and barbadua, IWC, japan, maseyuku komatsu, moratorium, oceans, press releases, vote buying, whaling

Mori poll shows that Eastern Caribbean public supports South Pacific Whale Sanctuary

Last edited 26 April 2001 at 8:00am
26 April, 2001

As Greenpeace ship, the Arctic Sunrise, starts a tour of the Caribbean, the results of a MORI poll (1) reveals that people in the Eastern Caribbean support the creation of a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary (SPWS) by a margin of four to one.

People living in the six Caribbean countries (2) that are members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) were asked whether or not those countries should support the establishment of a SPWS. Over half (54%) of the public across the six countries support the Sanctuary, and only 13% oppose it.

Article tagged as: press releases, sanctuaries, vote buying, whaling

How the South Pacific Whale Sanctuary was defeated

Last edited 9 April 2001 at 8:00am
Publication date: 
9 April, 2001

When the International Whaling Commission (IWC) met in Australia, in July 2000, many participants expected it to create a large whale sanctuary in the South Pacific. This sanctuary would have extended the existing Antarctic whale sanctuary, which covers the feeding grounds of the great whales, so that the warmer areas where the whales give birth and raise their young are also protected. The signs were good:

Download the report:
Article tagged as: reports, sanctuaries, vote buying, whaling