Question 16111 — foreign policy

Summary

Mr. Erwan Balanant alerts the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the need to intensify international negotiations with a view to obtaining an effective ban on whaling. Whales play a crucial role in the functioning of ecosystems. In particular, they allow the circulation of nutrients essential to the primary functioning of the oceans. The scarcity and, a fortiori, the disappearance of certain cetacean communities would then be likely to have dramatic consequences, in particular on the regulation of climate change. In addition to this need to preserve different species, the violent extermination techniques used in whaling make it imperative to ban this practice. In 1982, the International Whaling Commission adopted a moratorium on whaling for commercial purposes. However, some States continue to authorize or tolerate the capture of cetaceans, such as Iceland, Norway and Japan. This last example is particularly striking. On December 26, 2018, Japan announced its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), a body of 89 members, of which it had become a member in 1951. It will thus resume the capture of cetaceans for commercial purposes, from July 2019. This declaration follows years of failures by Japan to meet its international obligations. Since 1987, Japan has issued special permits for the capture of whales under the guise of scientific research, invoking Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling of December 2, 1946. This provision allows States Parties to authorize the "capture and processing whales for scientific research”, by strictly regulating this exemption. However, Japan's compliance with the conditions of this waiver has been repeatedly challenged by other States Parties and non-governmental organizations. In its Australia v Japan judgment of March 31, 2014, the International Court of Justice found that Japan had indeed violated its international obligations deriving from the aforementioned convention, particularly in view of the large volume of samples taken. On July 6, 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Japan's decision to resume whaling during the 2015-2016 season. Thus, for many years, Japan has been at the origin of behavior contrary to international law, threatening the protection of our biodiversity. There This state's recent decision to withdraw from the CBI further heightens concerns. By what means of dialogue, measures or means of pressure, does France plan to dissuade Japan from resorting to whaling? The day after the ratification of a historic free trade agreement between the European Union and Japan, he asks whether the French Government intends to promote new negotiations between the Union European Union and Japan, so that the capture of cetaceans is prohibited.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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