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It is the general policy of Iceland to
support the principle of sustainable use of living marine resources. It is
therefore the view of Iceland that sustainability is the key issue regarding
whaling. Iceland strongly opposes unsustainable whaling, but supports
whaling that is sustainable. Iceland accepts the fact that in some countries
whales are considered to be special animals that should not be hunted,
regardless of whether the catches are sustainable or not. Each country
has the right to limit or ban whaling within its national jurisdiction
and Iceland does not wish to remove that right. However, Iceland can not
accept the attempts of some countries to impose their own cultural attitudes
towards whales upon other peoples. While the international community should
co-operate to make all whaling operations sustainable, such co-operation
should not prevent countries that wish to utilise whale stocks in a sustainable
manner from doing so.
The result of the Special Meeting in Cambridge means that Iceland
can now work constructively within the IWC on creating a management
framework for the Commission by finalising the RMS. In accordance with
the Convention that governs its work (the International Convention for
the Regulation of Whaling) the role of the IWC is to regulate whaling.
It is Iceland's hope that the RMS will be finalised soon and that the
IWC can from then on play the role of regulating commercial whaling to
ensure it is sustainable.
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