HONDURAS IS THE FIRST LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRY TO SUPPORT EXPANDING THE IMO COUNCIL

Since its creation in 1958, the IMO Council has undergone several enlargements, starting with 16 Member States up to the 40 Member States that make up the Council today.

This latest expansion was the result of the 1993 amendments that entered into force in 2002, which increased the number of Council Members to 40 (divided into 3 groups).

During the thirty-second session of the Assembly held from December 6 to 15, 2021, where more than 1,400 delegates registered to attend, were adopted, among several important agreements and resolutions, the amendments to the IMO Convention establishing the IMO to increase the number of Council Members to 52. 

This amendment requires the acceptance of two-thirds of the IMO Members (117 Member States out of the current number of 175 Member States) for its entry into force.

As such, the Republic of Honduras was the first Member State to deposit its instrument of acceptance, which was received by the United Nations on July 13, 2022, followed by the Kingdom of Norway, which deposited its instrument of acceptance directly at IMO.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said, "I am very pleased that Honduras and Norway were the first Member States to deposit their instruments of acceptance of the amendments to the IMO Convention. I hope that we will see other Member States follow suit in the coming months and demonstrate their support for reform of the IMO Council. IMO must have a truly representative, balanced, diverse and efficient Council, given the global nature of our vital work."

The amendments to the IMO Articles of Agreement, in addition to increasing the Council's membership, will expand the mandate of its Members, and recognize three additional authentic texts as equally authentic versions of the IMO Articles of Agreement.

The text of the amendments, which were adopted by the IMO Assembly in December 2021, has already been circulated through the United Nations (C.N.46.2022).

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