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The SOLAS Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships. The first version was adopted in 1914, in response to the Titanic disaster, the second in 1929, the third in 1948, and the fourth in 1960. The 1974 version includes the tacit acceptance procedure - which provides that an amendment shall enter into force on a specified date unless, before that date, objections to the amendment are received from an agreed number of Parties.
As a result the 1974 Convention has been updated and amended on numerous occasions. The Convention in force today is sometimes referred to as SOLAS, 1974, as amended.
The main objective of the SOLAS Convention is to specify minimum standards for the construction, equipment and operation of ships, compatible with their safety.
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The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.
The MARPOL Convention was adopted on 2 November 1973 at IMO. The Protocol of 1978 was adopted in response to a spate of tanker accidents in 1976-1977. As the 1973 MARPOL Convention had not yet entered into force, the 1978 MARPOL Protocol absorbed the parent Convention. The combined instrument entered into force on 2 October 1983. In 1997, a Protocol was adopted to amend the Convention and a new Annex VI was added which entered into force on 19 May 2005. MARPOL has been updated by amendments through the years.
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The legally binding Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean was signed in Ilulissat, Greenland on October 3rd, 2018. It entered into force on 25 June 2021. The agreement commits the parties to not authorize any vessel flying its flag to engage in commercial fishing in the high seas portion of the central Arctic Ocean. The agreement will be in place for up to sixteen years, renewable in increments of five years.
This agreement provides a framework for the parties to cooperate to better understand the ecosystems in and adjacent to the central Arctic Ocean. It prevents commercial fishing from occurring until adequate scientific information is available to inform decision-making in relation to the viability and sustainability of any potential future fishing activities in the agreement area. Parties intend to meet at least every two years to review implementation progress and the scientific information developed through a joint program of scientific research and monitoring.
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At the 8th Ministerial meeting in Kiruna, Sweden, in 2013, Ministers of the Arctic States mandated the creation of a Task Force "to work towards an arrangement on improved scientific research cooperation among the eight Arctic States". The culmination of this work came at the 10th Ministerial meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska on 11th May 2017, with the signature of the "Agreement on Enhancing International Arctic Scientific Cooperation".
The purpose of this Agreement is to enhance cooperation in Scientific Activities in order to increase effectiveness and efficiency in the development of scientific knowledge about the Arctic.
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Signed by Representatives of the Arctic Council at the 10th Ministerial meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska on 11th May 2017.
The purpose of this Declaration is to reaffirm the commitment to maintain peace, stability, and constructive cooperation in the Arctic, Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the AC and its emergence as the preeminent intergovernmental forum for the Arctic Region, and affirming the commitment to further strengthen the Arctic Council and its activities, Reaffirming our commitment to the well-being of the inhabitants of the Arctic, to sustainable development and to the protection of the Arctic environment, Recognizing the rights of Arctic indigenous peoples and the unique role of the Permanent Participants within the AC, as well as the commitment to consult and cooperate in good faith with Arctic indigenous peoples and to support their meaningful engagement in the AC activities, Acknowledging the contributions of local authorities, and the interests of all Arctic residents and communities in the work of the AC, Further recognizing that activities taking place outside the Arctic region, including activities occurring in Arctic States are the main contributors to climate change effects and pollution in the Arctic, and underlining the need for action at all levels, Noting with concern that the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the global average, resulting in widespread social, environmental, and economic impacts in the Arctic and worldwide, and the pressing and increasing need for mitigation and adaptation actions and to strengthen resilience, Noting the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change and its implementation, and reiterating the need for global action to reduce both long-lived greenhouse gases and short-lived climate pollutants, and Reaffirming the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the need for their realization by 2030.