The Intersessional Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) took place at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy, from 9-11 March 2009.

The meeting was attended by over half of the Commission’s 84 members, representatives of four intergovernmental organizations, as well as of NGOs and civil society. Participants considered the results of the initial deliberations of the Small Working Group (SWG) on the Future of the IWC, which was established at the IWC’s Annual Meeting in 2008 to “assist the Commission to arrive at a consensus solution to the main issues it faces, to enable it to best fulfill its role with respect to the conservation of whale stocks and the management of whaling.” The final report of the SWG will be available by 18 May 2009. At the close of the meeting, IWC Chair Bill Hogarth noted that the discussions had been helpful, and underlined that there were “clear expressions of view that efforts to arrive at a package of proposals must continue.” However, he added that much work remains to be done as members differ as to precisely how to accomplish the Commission’s goal.
Links to further information
Meeting website
IWC press release, 11 March 2009