International talks on replacing a moratorium on whaling with a controlled cull have reached an impasse due to "an absence of political will", New Zealand delegate Sir Geoffrey Palmer says.Negotiators at a meeting of the International Whaling Co
International talks on replacing a moratorium on whaling with a controlled cull have reached an impasse due to "an absence of political will", New Zealand delegate Sir Geoffrey Palmer says.
Negotiators at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in the Moroccan city of Agadir said the proposal, aimed at breaking the long-running deadlock over the emotive issue of whaling, failed because whaling countries and anti-whaling delegations could not find enough common ground.
Sir Geoffrey said negotiators had had two days of useful talks but were unable to agree on a consensus resolution.
"There is an absence of political will to bridge the gaps and to compromise," he said.
Sir Geoffrey, who chaired a 12-nation working group that has met a half dozen times over the last year, suggested a year-long cooling-off period before talks resumed.
Acting IWC chairman Anthony Liverpool told an open meeting today that "fundamental positions remained very much apart".
"After nearly three years of discussions, it appears our discussions are at an impasse," he said.
Japan's delegation blamed a lack of flexibility on the proposals, which were put forward by the IWC's chairman, for sinking the talks.
"Unfortunately, there are some members who are unhappy with the chair's proposal and who do not accept it as a basis for discussions," the delegation said in a statement.
A moratorium on whaling has been in force for 24 years but Japan, Norway and Iceland have caught thousands of whales since the 1980s, arguing that they are not bound by a total ban despite international condemnation.
The compromise proposal under discussion at the IWC meeting would have lifted the moratorium for 10 years but imposed strict controls on the limited whaling that would then be allowed.
Some environmental groups have given qualified support for the proposal, saying if it was not possible for now to stop all whaling at least it should be limited.
However, it was opposed by supporters of whaling who said it amounted to a back-door ban on the practice, and by some anti-whaling campaigners who described it as a sell-out to the whaling lobby.
The meeting had been scheduled to continue until Friday.
