Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
To strike a balance, the Convention includes an article on technical assistance
and cooperation. The article calls for technical assistance to: train personnel; ensure
the availability of relevant technology, equipment, and facilities; promote research
and development programs; and transfer management systems and technology. 107
But the Convention makes transfer of technology subject to domestic laws, regu-
lations, and policies. 108 This means that this provision will remain a paper tiger, like
similar provisions of other IMO conventions. 109
In implementation of the Convention, the IMO and global community should
consider the realities on the ground in the five major shipbreaking nations. If the
Convention exerts any additional pressure on the economy of a least developed
country (LDC), the country will struggle to implement the Convention. In framing
international legal instruments for ship recycling, Principle 11 of the Rio Declara-
tion on Environment and Development offers a useful reminder: “States shall enact
effective environmental legislation. Environmental standards, management objec-
tives and priorities should reflect the environmental and development context to
which they apply. Standards applied by some countries may be inappropriate and of
unwarranted economic and social cost to other countries, in particular developing
countries”. 110 The IMO cannot deny that rigorous regulation of ship recycling
facilities will be applied mainly to five developing countries, including a least
developed country. So these regulations must be capable of implementation by
these countries. But the IMO Ship Recycling Convention is going to take a totally
different approach on this issue, as highlighted in a paper written by an IMO official:
“the underlying philosophy of the IMO Convention is to establish common stan-
dards for all ship recycling operations, without distinction as to which part of the
world they take place, or the economic situation of the country in which they are
carried out”. 111
Moreover, according to Article 207 of the United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea, “States, acting especially through competent international organisations
or diplomatic conference, shall endeavour to establish global and regional rules,
standards and recommended practices and procedures to prevent, reduce and control
pollution of the marine environment from land-based sources, taking into account
107 Recycling of Ships Convention, art. 13(1).
108
Recycling of Ships Convention, art. 13(2).
109
Article 13 of the Convention has failed to impose any significant legal obligation on developed
countries ' shipping interests regarding technical assistance. International environmental
nongovernmental organisations have tried their best to include a provision regarding this issue.
According to the report of the Working Group on Ship Recycling, “Greenpeace made it clear that
its proposal for an economic mechanism for internalising costs for safe and environmentally sound
ship recycling was not covered by Article 13 on Technical assistance and co-operation. The group
suggested that Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth International might consider submitting a
more detailed proposal for such a funding mechanism to a future session of the Committee.”
MEPC 57/WP.6, para. 25.
110 Rio Declaration, principle 11.
111 Mikelis, above note 80, p. 8.
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