Legal framework
The foundations for regional cooperation in the fields of prevention of, preparedness for and response to marine pollution from ships in the Mediterranean are set out in the Protocol concerning Co-operation in Preventing Pollution from Ships and, in Cases of Emergency, Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea (2002 Prevention and Emergency Protocol) to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention).
The 2002 Prevention and Emergency Protocol, which came into force on 17 March 2004, is the regional instrument setting out the main principles of cooperation when dealing with threats to the marine environment, the coasts and related interests of the Contracting Parties, posed by accidental releases or by accumulations of small, operational discharges, of oil or other harmful substances.
With regards to the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution Resulting from Exploration and Exploitation of the Continental Shelf and the Seabed and its Subsoil, which came into force on 24 March 2011, Contracting Parties shall implement , the provisions of the Prevention and Emergency Protocol as stated in the text with regard to contingency planning, notification and mutual assistance in cases of emergency.
In this legal context, REMPEC bridges the regional level, through its contribution to the various themes dealt with within the context of the Barcelona Convention and its seven (7) Protocols, with the support of other Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP) Components; and the international level by assisting the Mediterranean coastal States in ratifying, transposing, implementing and enforcing international maritime conventions as they unite to prevent , prepare for and respond to marine pollution incidents from ships, in particular those adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
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