IMO AT WORK
Global Initiative holds flagship oil spill response conference The biennial Regional Conference of the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF Project) was held in November 2013, in Swakopmund, Namibia, jointly organized by IMO, IPIECA (the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues), and the Ministry of Works and Transport of the Republic of Namibia. Oil spills are presenting new challenges to Central, Southern and Western parts of Africa, so the broad objective of the GI WACAF Regional Oil Spill Conference was to ensure an effective response to these challenges by promoting public/private partnership. Industry and Government stakeholders from 22 west, central and southern African countries and several leading international oil spill preparedness and response experts attended the conference, which followed those held in Gabon (April 2006), Republic of Congo (December 2007), Cameroon (November 2009), and Nigeria (November 2011). The Conference focused on capacity building, under the theme “Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Capability in West, Central and Southern Africa: Sustaining momentum in a changing world of oil spill risks”.
International Maritime Prize presented Dr Thomas A. Mensah of Ghana, former President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Legal Affairs and External Relations Division at IMO, receives the prestigious International Maritime Prize, for his significant contribution to the work of IMO from Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu. Dr Mensah was nominated for the prize by the Government of Ghana for his contribution to the aims and objectives of the Organization throughout a distinguished career in international affairs, over many years a specialist in maritime and in environmental law. The nomination highlighted Dr Mensah’s long career at IMO (initially as head of the Organization’s newly-formed Legal Affairs Division and then as Assistant Secretary-General) followed by his appointment as a Judge at the newly-established International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) , from 1996 to 2005. He was also elected as the first President of the Tribunal, from 1996 to 1999.
IMO Publishing distributors meet at HQ
The sixth meeting of IMO Publishing distributors was held at the London headquarters, with over 40 guests representing IMO Publishing’s worldwide distributor network. IMO publishes more than 200 titles in English; many are translated into French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian.
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IMO NEWS | ISSUE 1 | 2014