The Republic of Iraq has acceded to IMO treaties covering search and rescue, and safety of maritime navigation. These include:
- the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, 1979 (SAR); and
- the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, 2005 (SUA PROT).
The SAR Convention covers the coordinated search and rescue of persons in distress at sea. The world’s oceans are divided into 13 search and rescue areas, with countries having delimited search and rescue regions for which they are responsible.
The SUA Protocol of 2005 ensures that appropriate action is taken against persons committing unlawful acts against offshore fixed platforms, including oil platforms.
H.E. Mr. Mohammad Jaafar Mohammad Bakr Al-Sadr, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Iraq to IMO, met IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez at IMO Headquarters to deposit the instruments of accession on 6 March.