[MUNUC 36] International Maritime Organization Copy IMO

Founded in 1948, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is a specialized agency with 175 member states tasked with protecting international shipping, maritime security, and environmental preservation. Charged with overseeing international shipping transports, which account for over eighty percent of global trade, the IMO is an essential institution for the preservation of global commerce. MUNUC 36 will simulate the Assembly, which meets every two years to address the future of maritime regulation and security to promote the IMO’s values of safety, security, and environmental preservation.

Topic A: Strengthening International Cooperation in Combating Piracy

Formally defined by the IMO as “any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation committed for private end by the crew or the passengers of a private aircraft, and directed on the high seas,” piracy continues to threaten the safety those in international waters and undermine the security of the global trade network.

Primarily occurring in the Gulf of Aden, the Western Indian Ocean, and the Gulf of Guinea, piracy is one of the top concerns of the IMO. In order to tackle such a complex issue in a comprehensive manner, member states of the IMO will need to work with each other, as well as other UN agencies, to protect the freedom of the seas and integrity of international trade.

We challenge delegates to combat piracy with a strategy strong in breadth and depth. If international criminals are crafty, then international managers and regulators must be even more creative. Increasing international cooperation will be a vital component of all solutions, as well as identifying both emerging methods of piracy and root sources of this crime.

Topic B: Regulating Fishing and Whaling

The world’s oceans are a principal source of income for millions of people around the world, they are not an unlimited resource. A lack of comprehensive regulation has seen the oceans being exploited, disrupting natural ecosystems and marine life. Furthermore, international fisheries crime is a significant and propagating threat to both the earth’s marine environment as well as the fishing industry. Unregulated and illegal fishing not only deplete fish stocks but also undermine efforts to promote sustainable fisheries management and ocean conservation.

Over the past several decades, the IMO has worked to introduce regulations to help protect the environment through conventions such as MARPOL and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, however there is much more to be done to protect the earth as much as possible from harmful fishing and whaling. We are asking delegates to find new strategies to expand surveillance of current international fishing and whaling, and novel regulations and punishments to further encourage preservation of our great oceans.

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