RECALLING Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International
Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Assembly in
relation to regulations and guidelines concerning maritime safety,
BEING DEEPLY CONCERNED that the conditions for the entry
into force of the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993 relating to the Torremolinos
International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977 (hereinafter
referred to as the Torremolinos Protocol) have, fourteen years after
its adoption, still not been met owing to the fact that an insufficient
number of Governments with the required aggregate number of fishing
vessels under their flag have so far deposited with the Secretary-General
instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to
enable it to enter into force,
RECALLING ALSO resolution A.925(22) on Entry into
force and implementation of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol and the
1995 STCW-F Convention, by means of which it urged Governments
to consider accepting the two instruments at the earliest opportunity
and requested the Maritime Safety Committee to review the situation
concerning their entry into force and, in the light of such review,
to take action as it deemed appropriate,
WELCOMING the outcome of the Seminar on the Implementation
of the Torremolinos Protocol, held in Beijing, People’s Republic
of China, in September 2004, which, having identified technical and
other difficulties encountered in relation to the implementation of
the Protocol, recommended solutions to address them,
WELCOMING ALSO the outcome of the second session of the
Joint FAO/IMO Ad Hoc Working Group on Illegal, Unreported
and Unregulated Fishing and Related Matters, held in Rome, Italy,
from 16 to 18 July 2007, which, having considered the options suggested
in a legal study presented at the said session and aimed at facilitating
the entry into force of the Protocol, recommended that such options
should be further explored, in particular the possibility of preparing
a draft agreement relating to the implementation of the Torremolinos
Protocol with a view to its adoption by an appropriate IMO body,
HAVING NOTED the decisions of the Maritime Safety Committee,
at its eighty-third session, on the outcome of the aforementioned
session of the Joint FAO/IMO Ad Hoc Working Group,
REMAINING CONVINCED that the continuing and alarmingly high
number of fishers’ lives and of fishing vessels reported lost
every year could be substantially reduced by global, uniform and effective
implementation of the Torremolinos Protocol, the entry into force
of which would make a significant contribution to maritime safety
in general and that of fishing vessels in particular:
1. REITERATES ITS STRONG RECOMMENDATION to Governments
to consider ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the Torremolinos
Protocol at the earliest possible opportunity;
2. INVITES Governments to consider the feasibility
of establishing uniform regional standards, as called for in article
3(5) of the Torremolinos Protocol, communicating to the Organization
any such action for circulation to other Parties to the Protocol for
information;
3. ENDORSES the decision of the Maritime Safety
Committee, at its eighty-third session, to explore the options recommended
by the second session of the Joint FAO/IMO Ad Hoc Working
Group on Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing and Related Matters
to facilitate and expedite the earliest possible entry into force
of the Torremolinos Protocol, and encourages the Committee to take
any action it may deem necessary and appropriate towards such an end;
4. REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee to review
the situation concerning entry into force of the Torremolinos Protocol
and, in the light of such review, to take action as it deems appropriate;
5. REQUESTS the Secretary-General to take any
such additional measures as may be required aimed at assisting Member
Governments in the process of becoming Parties to, and implementing,
the Torremolinos Protocol.