Legal framework of REMPEC

    Overview of the legal framework of REMPEC, including its establishment and the evolution of its mandate.

    REMPEC was established by the Parties to the Barcelona Convention as a Regional Centre and hosted in Malta by the Maltese Government. It operates on the basis of decisions taken and activities determined by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, and is administered by IMO as a result of legal arrangements between UNEP and IMO (formerly IMCO) undertaken in 1976. These arrangements were undertaken by the Executive Director of UNEP on the basis of the mandate given by the Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the Coastal States of the Mediterranean Region for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea, convened in Barcelona, Spain, 2-16 February 1976.

    The Diplomatic Conference adopted on 16 February 1976 the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution, the Protocol for the Prevention of Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft, and the Protocol concerning Co-operation in Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Oil and other Harmful Substances, in Cases of Emergency. These three instruments entered into force on 12 February 1978. The text of the latter Protocol makes reference to “the Regional Centre”.

    Resolution 7 of the Diplomatic Conference “Establishment of a Regional Oil-Combating Centre for the Mediterranean” states:

    “The Conference,

    1. Decides to accept the offer of the Government of the Republic of Malta to host such a Regional Centre;
    2. Requests the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, after consultations with the Government of Malta and the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization, to assist in the early establishment of a Regional Oil-Combating Centre in Malta having the objectives and functions set out in the annex to this resolution;
    3. Welcomes the intention of the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to entrust to the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization the functions and responsibility as Co-operating Agency for the establishment and operation of the aforesaid Regional Centre, it being understood that the exercise of functions and responsibilities by IMCO should not lead to an increase in its budget;
    4. As a consequence requests the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to submit, in the light of comments made at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries, a report on the establishment of the Regional Oil-Combating Centre to the Governing Council of UNEP at its fourth session and to seek to obtain such further authorization from the Council as he may need to draw on the Fund of UNEP for the purpose of defraying the expenses involved in the establishment and initial operating costs of the Centre. This authorization might be requested on the assumption that the operating expenses of the Centre will be gradually defrayed by means of voluntary multilateral or individual contributions from governments of the Mediterranean Region, from international organizations and from non-governmental organizations. The financing of the Centre should be reviewed at the meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention and the appropriate Protocol, when these instruments have entered into force;
    5. Further requests the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to report to the coastal States of the Mediterranean Region at the next intergovernmental meeting of these States and thereafter annually on the work and activities of the Centre.”

    On the basis of the mandate provided by the Diplomatic Conference, the Executive Director of the UNEP and the Secretary General of the then IMCO signed a Project Document related to the establishment and operation of the Centre on 2 September 1976 and the Centre officially opened on 11 December 1976. A new project document is developed and signed every 2 years outlining the activities and budget of the Centre.

    As requested in paragraph 4 of Resolution 7 quoted above, the Intergovernmental Review Meeting of Mediterranean Coastal States and the First Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution and its related Protocols (Geneva, 5-10 February 1979) reviewed the institutional and financial arrangements (cf. UNEP/IG.14/9 ) and agreed on the establishment of a Mediterranean Regional Trust Fund for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution (MTF) as well as a budget for the Regional Oil-Combating Centre which provided for the payment of operating costs as well as activities.

    The Protocol concerning Cooperation in Preventing Pollution from Ships and, in cases of Emergency, Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea adopted on 25 January 2002, which replaced the Protocol concerning Co-operation in Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Oil and other Harmful Substances in Cases of Emergency, contains the following definition of the Centre in article 1(f):

    “Regional Centre” means “the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea” (REMPEC), established by Resolution 7 adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the Coastal States of the Mediterranean Region on the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea at Barcelona on 9 February 1976, which is administered by the International Maritime Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, and the objectives and functions of which are defined by the Contracting Parties to the Convention.”

    To extend the Centre’s mandate to include “hazardous substances other than oil”, the Annex of Resolution 7 related to the Objectives and Functions of a Regional Centre for Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean by Oil and Other Harmful Substances  (UNEP(OCA)/MED IG.1/5, Annex V, Appendix 1, pages 1-3) were further revised and adopted by the Sixth Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution and its related Protocols”, Athens, 3-6 October 1989.

    To reaffirm the Centre’s involvement in activities related to prevention of, preparedness for and response to marine pollution and to confirm the decision to adopt an new Protocol instead of amending the 1976 Emergency Protocol, the Objectives and Functions of a Regional Centre for the Implementation of the Emergency Protocol, were reviewed and adopted by the Twelfth Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution and its Protocols” (UNEP(OCA)/MED IG.13/8, Annex IV, Appendix 1, pages 1-4), Monaco, 14-17 November 2001.

    To define better the role and functions of the components of MAP in order to ensure synergy, better integration, avoid overlapping and to improve the efficiency and impact of MAP, the common introduction and Mandate of the Components of MAP including the Mandate of REMPEC was approved by the Sixteenth Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution and its Protocols” ( UNEP(DEPI)/MED IG.19/8, Annex II, Page 45), Marrakesh, 5 November 2009.

    Related documents:

    Protocols

    The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea