BEARING IN MIND the purposes and principles of the Charter
of the United Nations concerning the maintenance of international
peace and security and the promotion of friendly relations and co-operation
among States,
DEEPLY CONCERNED about the world-wide escalation of acts
of terrorism in all its forms, which endanger or take innocent human
lives, jeopardize fundamental freedoms and seriously impair the dignity
of human beings,
BEING AWARE of the importance and significance of shipping
to the world trade and economy and, therefore, being determined to
safeguard the worldwide supply chain against any breach resulting
from terrorist attacks against ships, ports, offshore terminals or
other facilities,
CONSIDERING that unlawful acts against shipping jeopardize
the safety and security of persons and property, seriously affect
the operation of maritime services and undermine the confidence of
the peoples of the world in the safety of maritime navigation,
CONSIDERING that the occurrence of such acts is a matter
of grave concern to the international community as a whole, while
also recognizing the importance of the efficient and economic movement
of world trade,
BEING CONVINCED of the urgent need to develop international
co-operation between States in devising and adopting effective and
practical measures, additional to those already adopted by the International
Maritime Organization (hereinafter referred to as "the Organization"),
to prevent and suppress unlawful acts directed against shipping in
its broad sense,
RECALLING the United Nations Security Council resolution
1373(2001), adopted on 28 September 2001, requiring States to take
measures to prevent and suppress terrorist acts, including calling
on States to implement fully anti-terrorist conventions,
HAVING NOTED the Co-operative G8 Action on Transport Security
(in particular, the Maritime Security section thereof), endorsed by
the G8 Leaders during their Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta (Canada)
in June 2002,
RECALLING article VIII(c) of
the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974,
as amended (hereinafter referred to as "the Convention"), concerning
the procedure for amending the Convention by a Conference of Contracting
Governments,
NOTING resolution A.924(22) entitled "Review of measures
and procedures to prevent acts of terrorism which threaten the security
of passengers and crew and the safety of ships", adopted by the Assembly
of the Organization on 20 November 2001, which, inter alia:
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(a) recognizes the need for the Organization to
review, with the intent to revise, existing international legal and
technical measures, and to consider appropriate new measures, to prevent
and suppress terrorism against ships and to improve security aboard
and ashore in order to reduce the risk to passengers, crew and post
personnel on board ships and in port areas and to the vessels and
their cargoes; and
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(b) requests the Organization's Maritime Safety
Committee, the Legal Committee and the Facilitation Committee under
the direction of the Council to undertake, on a high priority basis,
a review to ascertain whether there is a need to update the instruments
referred to in the preambular paragraphs of the aforesaid resolution
and any other relevant IMO instrument under their scope and/or to
adopt other security measures and, in the light of such a review,
to take action as appropriate;
HAVING IDENTIFIED resolution A.584(14) entitled "Measures
to prevent unlawful acts which threaten the safety of ships and the
security of their passengers and crew", MSC/Circ.443 on "Measures
to prevent unlawful acts against passengers and crew on board ships"
and MSC/Circ.754 on "Passenger ferry security" among the IMO instruments
relevant to the scope of resolution A.924(22),
RECALLING resolution 5 entitled
"Future amendments to chapter XI of
the 1974 SOLAS Convention on special measures to enhance maritime
safety", adopted by the 1994 Conference of Contracting Government
to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974,
HAVING CONSIDERED amendments to the Annex of the Convention
proposed and circulated to all Members of the Organization and to
all Contracting Governments to the Convention,
1. ADOPTS, in accordance with article VIII(c)(ii) of the Convention,
amendments to the Annex of the Convention, the text of which is given
in the Annex to the present
resolution;
2. DETERMINES, in accordance with article VIII(b)(vi)(2)(bb) of the
Convention, that the aforementioned amendments shall be deemed to
have been accepted on 1 January 2004, unless, prior to that date,
more than one third of the Contracting Governments to the Convention
or Contracting Governments the combined merchant fleets of which constitute
not less than 50% of the gross tonnage of the world's merchant fleet,
have notified their objections to the amendments;
3. INVITES Contracting Governments to the Convention
to note that, in accordance with article
VIII(b)(vii)(2) of the Convention, the said amendments shall
enter into force on 1 July 2004 upon their acceptance in accordance
with paragraph 2 above;
4. REQUESTS the Secretary-General of the Organization,
in conformity with article VIII(b)(v) of
the Convention, to transmit certified copies of the present resolution
and the text of the amendments contained in the Annex to all Contracting Governments
to the Convention;
5. FURTHER REQUESTS the Secretary-General to transmit
copies of this resolution and its Annex to
all Members of the Organization, which are not Contracting Governments
to the Convention.