Iran Official Adresses IMO Assembly In London

London, Nov 23, IRNA -- Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development told an international forum in London that establishment of a powerful central government in Somalia and expansion of regional cooperation initiatives are the best ways to solve the phenomenon of piracy. According to IRNA reporter in London, Sadr, addressing the 27th Assembly of Internatioanal Maritime Organization (IMO), highlighted three main issues of 'piracy', 'seafareres', and 'unfair restrictive practices' in international shipping. On the first issue, the Iranian official, who is also Managing Director of Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, said, 'As we all know, the theme for 2011 international maritime day is “Piracy; Orchestrating the response”. This is to sensitize stakeholders to the issue and attract the closer attention of all parties involved, in particular politicians, to take all necessary actions towards eradication of this catastrophic phenomenon with a great negative impact on international maritime trade.' 'Even though many countries including the Islamic Republic of Iran have dispatched naval forces to the piracy infested areas, i.e. the waters of the coast of Somalia and Gulf of Aden, these actions cannot be considered as a final solution. We firmly believe that the best way to solve the problem is to help Somalia in establishing a powerful central government and, at the same time expanding regional co-operation initiatives such as the Djibouti Code of Conduct. The I.R. of Iran fully supports such measures under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization.' On the issue of Seafarers, Sadr said it is regrettable to say that, we still witness unfair treatment in some ports. Discrimination in granting shore leaves and access to port facilities for medical purposes, due to a special nationality or religion, is not acceptable at all. The continuation of such unfair treatment proves the lack of clarity and precise regulation in related legally binding instruments. 'In order to make sure that, a clear and fair balance between the interests of the host countries and the right of seafarers are guaranteed, the FAL Convention has to be amended at earliest possible time,' said Sadr. On unfair restrictive practices, affecting shipping engaged in international trade, the Iranian official said as it is clearly mentioned in paragraph “b” of article one of IMO Convention, IMO has always encouraged member states to cooperate with each other and, to promote the availability of shipping services to the commerce of the world without discrimination. Therefore it is necessary to avoid all forms of actions and decisions affecting shipping of a member state engaged in global transportation, which are incompatible with international laws and the spirit of IMO. 'In our opinion, the negative impact of such unilateral restrictive practices over other member states would not be less than that of piracy and armed robbery against the ships.' On the activities of the I.R.of Iran in the field of IMO’s business and fulfillment of its commitments, Sadr pointed out the following issues: In recent years, the I.R. of Iran effectively and continuously contributed to development of rules and standards stipulated in various IMO’s instruments. The effective and intense activities along with technical cooperation has improved our position to the top 15 member states that submitted most numbers of documents to IMO’s different organs during past two years. For example, just for comprehensive amendment of STCW Convention, about 44 substantial documents have been submitted, and one of the two working groups for such an important project has been chaired by Iran. The role of Iran in developing IMO instruments is complemented by becoming a party of 31 maritime conventions, fulfillment of the obligations set out in these instruments, huge investment in both infrastructure and software to enhance its maritime activities and conducting the IMO Audit Scheme in October 2011./end