January 2012
President Barack Obama
The White House
600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW Washington, DC 20500
President Obama,
Back in 2008 when you were running for President you said, "Allowing Japan to continue commercial whaling is unacceptable." I completely agree.
At this year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting, historic first steps were taken towards reform by passing a measure that will make it close to impossible for countries like Japan to continue to buy the votes from other nations. However, there is still much work to be done to fully reform the IWC.
That's why I am writing to ask you to keep your word about strengthening the international moratorium on commercial whaling by using your power as President to reform the International Whaling Commission. Here's what you can do:
1. Use all available diplomatic tools to ensure that the like-minded conservation members gain the three-quarters majority required to set rules at the IWC.
2. Continue to build on the reform measures passed in the 2011 meeting, by working to instill a new era of transparency at the IWC with the full participation of civil society.
3. Work to end Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean sanctuary.
These three things will help move the IWC forward to the point where the Convention can be rewritten with whale conservation as its primary task, not whale hunting. It's time to make the IWC work for whales and not whalers.
Sincerely,
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