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THE FAO CODE OF CONDUCT

A recurrent question was about the relationship of this draft paper to the FAO Code of Conduct. Some delegates took the view that the day's discussion was a waste of time and effort since the FAO paper dealt precisely with compliance and enforcement. A delegate argued that the participants should actually encourage their Governments to adopt the FAO Code of Conduct and submit it to the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in order to generate support reminiscent of the Spirit of Rio. Other States argued that the two efforts were more complimentary than duplicative and that, in any event, the result of the current Convention may well apply to nations that do not ratify the FAO Code of Conduct. One delegate noted that some of the provisions of the FAO Code of Conduct on the identification of vessels did not meet with unanimity. But others argued that some flag States have neither the financial means nor the capacity to exert any kind of effective jurisdiction over vessels that fly their flags but hardly ever call in their ports.