How the IWC Nations Are Voting

Directly from www.seashepherd.org:

Vote Number 1 - Japan Moves to Oppose Conservation of Small Cetaceans. They Failed.
Japan opened with a resolution to prevent the IWC from discussing the conservation of small cetaceans. The vote was 32 for the whales and 30 for the whalers..

Vote Number 2 - Japan Moves to Remove Openess at the IWC and Proposes Secret Ballots. They Failed.
The 2nd vote was to introduce secret ballots. The vote was 33 for the whales and 30 for the whalers. This would have allowed nations to vote for Japan without repercussions from their own citizens.

Vote Number 3 - Japan Moves to allow Japanese coastal whaling. They Failed.
Japan proposed a motion to allow Japanese coastal communities to hunt whales. This would have effectively circumvented the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling. The vote was 30 for Japan and 31 for the whales.

Vote Number 4 - Japan Moves to eliminate the Southern Oceans Whale Sanctuary. They Failed.
The 4th and most important vote was a Japanese proposal to eliminate the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. It needed a two thirds majority but Japan was hoping for a simple majority to lend legitimacy to their illegal slaughter of whales in Antarctic waters. The vote was 28 for Japan and 33..

Vote Number 5 - The Infamous St. Kitts Declaration.
Japan Moves to condemn the global moratorium on commercial whaling, to accuse the whales of eating all the world's fish and to condemn non-governmental whale conservations groups as "threats". They win the simple majority vote by one but failed to get the two-thirds majority required. Nonetheless Japan declares their first moral victory in 2o years.

Passed by 33 votes to 32, the resolution stated the whaling ban was no longer necessary. It said whales were responsible for depleting fish stocks and non-governmental organizations were a "threat". This motion required a two-thirds majority to win.

Japan and the whalers have lost all five votes on resolutions brought before the IWC to undermine the conservation of whales.


The Voting Record by Nations
# Nation Vote 1 Vote 2 Vote 3 Vote 4 Vote 5
1 Antigua & Barbuda Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
2 Argentina No No No No No
3 Australia No No No No No
4 Austria No No No No No
5 Belgium No No No No No
6 Belize No No No No No
7 Benin Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
8 Brazil No No No No No
9 Cambodia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
10 Chile No No No No No
11 Cameroon Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
12 China Yes Yes Abstain Yes Abstain
13 Costa Rica No Vote No Vote No Vote No Vote No Vote
14 Cote D’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Yes Yes Yes Missed Yes
15 Czech Republic No No No No No
16 Denmark Abstain No Yes No Yes
17 Dominica Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
18 Finland No No No No No
19 France No No No No No
20 Gabon Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
21 Gambia Missed Yes Yes Yes Yes
22 Germany No No No No No
23 Grenada Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
24 Guatemala Missed Missed Missed Missed Missed
25 Guinea Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
26 Hungary No No No No No
27 Iceland Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
28 India No No No No No
29 Ireland No No No No No
30 Israel No No No No No
31 Italy No No No No No
32 Japan Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
33 Kenya Missed Missed Missed Missed Missed
34 Kiribati Yes Yes Abstain Yes Yes
35 Korea Yes Yes Abstain Abstain Yes
36 Luxembourg No No No No No
37 Mali Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
38 Marshall Islands Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
39 Mauritania Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
40 Mexico No No No No No
41 Monaco No No No No No
42 Mongolia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
43 Morocco Yes Yes Yes Abstain Yes
44 Nauru Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
45 Netherlands No No No No No
46 New Zealand No No No No No
47 Nicaragua Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
48 Norway Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
49 Oman No No Yes No No
50 Palau Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
51 Panama No No No No No
52 Peru Missed Missed Missed Missed Missed
53 Portugal No No No No No
54 Russia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
55 St. Kitts and Nevis Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
56 St. Lucia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
57 St. Vincent & the Grenadines Yes Yes Yes Abstain Yes
58 San Marino No No No No No
59 Senegal Missed Missed Missed Yes Yes
60 Slovak Republic No No No No No
61 Solomon Islands Yes Abstain Abstain Yes Yes
62 South Africa No No No No No
63 Spain No No No No No
64 Suriname Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
65 Sweden No No No No No
66 Switzerland No No No No No
67 Togo Missed Missed Yes Yes Yes
68 Tuvalu Yes Yes Yes Abstain
69 United Kingdom No No No No No
70 United States of America No No No No No


* Missed denotes that the country did not show up for the vote or did not qualify for the vote because of non-payment of membership fees.

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Sorry for the formatting...I'm no Elad.

So there it is folks. Count the yes votes, and keep them in mind.

...I feel so bad them....:nopity:

I remember the Star Trek movie where the alien device came to Earth looking for humpbacks. There were none & the machine started to wreak havoc with the weather. Of course, Kirk saves the day, but that is Hollywood.

That is all.......