Abidjan
Convention Protocols
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Protocol Concerning Co-operation
in Combating Pollution in Cases of Emergency
in the Western and Central African Region
For purpose of this protocol:
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Article 4
Article 5
Article 6 :
Article 7
Article 8
Article 9
Article 10
Article 11
Article 12
Annex
Article 1 :GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE
For the purposes of this Protocol:
- "Appropriate National Authority" means the authority designated by the
Government of a Contracting Party in accordance with paragraph 2 of
article 16 of the Convention for Co-operation in the Protection and
Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the West and Central
African Region, and responsible for:
- Combating and otherwise operationally responding to marine
emergencies;
- Receiving and co-ordinating reports of particular marine
emergencies;
- Co-ordinating activities relating to marine emergencies in
general within its own Government and with other Contracting Parties.
- "Marine Emergency" means any incident, occurrence or situation,
however caused, resulting in substantial pollution or imminent threat of
substantial pollution to the marine and coastal environment by oil or
other harmful substances and includes, in particular, collisions,
strandings and other incidents involving ships, including tankers,
petroleum production blow-outs and the presence of oil or other harmful
substances arising from the failure of industrial installations.
- "Marine Emergency Contingency Plan" means a plan, prepared on a
national, bilateral or multilateral basis, to deal with pollution and
other adverse effects on the marine and coastal environment, or the
threat thereof, resulting from accidents or other unforeseen events.
- "Marine Emergency Response" means any activity intended to prevent,
reduce, combat and control pollution by oil or other harmful substances
or threat of such pollution resulting from marine emergencies and
includes the clean-up of oil slicks and recovery or salvage of packages,
freight containers, portable tanks, or road and rail wagons.
- "Related Interests" means the interests of a Contracting Party
directly or indirectly affected or threatened by a marine emergency, such
as:
- Maritime, coastal, port or estuarine activities, including
fisheries activities;
- Historic and tourist attractions of the area concerned;
- The health and well-being of the inhabitants of the area
concerned, including the conservation of living marine resources and
wildlife and the protection of marine and coastal parks and reserves.
- "Convention" means the Convention for Cooperation in the Protection
and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the West and
Central African Region.
- "Organization" means the organization referred to in article 16 of the
Convention as responsible for the secretariat functions of the
Convention.
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Article 2 :
The area to which this Protocol applies (hereinafter referred to as the
"protocol area") shall be the same as the Convention area as defined in
article 1 of the Convention.
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Article 3
This Protocol shall apply to actual or potential marine emergencies which
constitute a substantial pollution danger to the Protocol area and
related interests of the Contracting Parties.
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Article 4
The Contracting Parties undertake to co-operate in all matters relating
to the taking of necessary and effective measures to protect their
respective coastlines and related interests from the threat and effects
of pollution resulting from marine emergencies.
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Article 5
Each Contracting Party shall provide the other Contracting Parties and
the Organization with information concerning:
- Its appropriate national authority;
- Its laws, regulations and other legal instruments relating
generally to matters referred to in this Protocol, including those
concerning the organization and operation of the appropriate national
authority, to the extent that this organization and operation relates to
matters referred to in this Protocol;
- Its national marine emergency contingency plans.
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Article 6
The Contracting Parties shall exchange, either through the Organization
or directly, information on research and development programmes,
including results concerning ways in which pollution by oil and other
harmful substances may be dealt with, and on experiences in combating
such pollution.
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Article 7
- Each Contracting Party undertakes to require masters of ships flying
its flag and pilots of aircraft registered in its territory, and persons
in charge of offshore structures operating under its jurisdiction, to
report by the most rapid and adequate channels in the circumstances, and
in accordance with the annex to this Protocol, to any Contracting Party:
- All accidents causing or likely to cause pollution of the sea by
oil or other harmful substances;
- The presence, characteristics and extent of spillages of oil or
other harmful substances observed at sea which are likely to present a
serious and imminent threat to the marine environment or to the coast or
related interests of one or more of the Contracting Parties.
- Any Contracting Party receiving a report pursuant to paragraph 1 above
shall promptly inform the Organization and, either through the
Organization or directly, the appropriate national authority of any
Contracting Party likely to be affected by the marine emergency.
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Article 8 :
- Any Contracting Party requiring assistance for dealing with a marine
emergency, including the recovery or salvage of packages, freight
containers, portable tanks, or road or rail wagons, may call for
assistance from any other Contracting Party. The call for assistance
shall be made initially to other Contracting Parties whose coastlines and
related interests might be affected by the marine emergency involved. The
Contracting Parties to whom a request is made pursuant to this paragraph
undertake to use their best endeavours to render the assistance
requested.
- The assistance referred to in paragraph 1 of this article may include:
- The provision and reinforcement of personnel, material, and
equipment;
- The provision and reinforcement of surveillance and monitoring
capacity;
- The provision of pollution disposal sites; or
- The facilitation of the transfer of personnel, equipment and
material into, out of, and through the territories of the Contracting
Parties.
- Any Contracting Party requesting assistance pursuant to paragraph 1 of
this article shall report the results following from the request to the
other Contracting Parties and to the Organization.
- The Contracting Parties undertake to consider as soon as possible and
in accordance with the means available to them the allocation of tasks
for responding to marine emergencies within the Protocol area.
- Each Contracting Party undertakes to inform the other Contracting
Parties and the Organization of measures taken in dealing with marine
emergencies in cases where those other Contracting Parties are not called
upon to provide assistance.
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Article 9
- The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to maintain and promote,
either individually or through bilateral or multilateral co-operation,
marine emergency contingency plans and means for combating pollution by
oil and other harmful substances. These means shall include, in
particular, equipment, ships, aircraft and manpower prepared for
operations in cases of emergency.
- The Contracting Parties shall co-operate in developing standing
instructions and procedures to be followed by their appropriate national
authorities who have responsibility for receiving and transmitting
reports of pollution by oil and other harmful substances made pursuant to
article 7 of this Protocol. Such co-operation shall be designed to ensure
speedy and routine reception, transmission and dissemination of these
reports.
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Article 10
- Each Contracting Party shall act in accordance with the following
principles in the conduct of marine emergency responses carried out under
its authority:
- Make an assessment of the nature and extent of the marine
emergency and transmit the results of the assessment to any other
Contracting Party concerned;
- Determine the necessary and appropriate action to be taken with
respect to the marine emergency in consultation, where appropriate, with
other Contracting Parties;
- Make the necessary reports and requests for assistance under
articles 7 and 8 of this Protocol; and
- Take appropriate and practical measures to prevent, reduce,
combat and control the effects of pollution, including surveillance and
monitoring of the marine emergency.
- In carrying out marine emergency responses under this Protocol the
Contracting Parties shall:
- Act in conformity with the principles of international law and
with international conventions having applicability to marine emergency
responses; and
- Inform the Organization of those marine emergency responses.
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Article 11
- Ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties to this Protocol shall be
held in conjunction with ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties to
the Convention, held pursuant to article 17 of the Convention. The
Contracting Parties to this Protocol may also hold extraordinary
meetings, as provided in article 17 of the Convention.
- It shall be the function of the meetings of the Contracting Parties to
this Protocol, in particular:
- To keep under review the implementation of this Protocol, and to
consider the efficacy of the measures adopted and the need for any other
measures, in particular in the form of annexes;
- To review and amend as required any annex to this Protocol;
- To discharge such other functions as may be appropriate for
implementation of this Protocol.
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Article 12
- The provisions of the Convention relating to any protocol shall apply
with respect to this Protocol.
- The rules of procedure and financial rules adopted pursuant to article
21 of the Convention shall apply with respect to this Protocol, unless
the Contracting Parties to this Protocol agree otherwise.
In witness whereof the undersigned,
being duly authorized by their respective Governments,
have signed this Protocol.
Done at Abidjan on this twenty-third
day of March one thousand nine hundred and eighty-one
in a single copy in the English, French and Spanish
languages, the three texts being equally authentic.
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Annex
GUIDELINES FOR THE REPORT TO BE MADE PURSUANT TO
ARTICLE 7 OF THE PROTOCOL
- Each report shall, as far as possible, contain:
- The identification of the source of pollution
(e.g. identity of the ship), where appropriate;
- The geographical position, time and date
of the occurrence of the incident or of
the observation;
- The marine meteorological conditions
prevailing in the area;
- Where the pollution originates from a
ship, relevant details respecting the condition
of the ship.
- Each report shall also contain, whenever possible:
- A clear indication or description of the harmful substances
involved, including the correct technical names of such substances (trade
names should not be used in place of the correct technical names);
- A statement or estimate of the quantity concentration and likely
condition of harmful substances discharged or likely to be discharged
into the sea;
- Where relevant, a description of the packaging and identifying
marks; and
- The name of the consignor, consignee or producer.
- Each report shall clearly indicate, whenever possible, whether the
harmful substance discharged or likely to be discharged is oil or a
noxious liquid, solid or gaseous substance, and whether such substance
was or is carried in bulk or contained package form, freight containers,
portable tanks, or submarine pipelines.
- Each report shall be supplemented, as necessary, by any relevant
information requested by a recipient of the report or deemed appropriate
by the person sending the report.
- Any of the persons referred to in article 7 of this Protocol shall:
- Supplement, as far as possible, the initial report, and as
necessary, with information concerning further development; and
- Comply as fully as possible with requests from affected Parties
for additional information.
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