: REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO AND THE SOLOMON ISLANDS - APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP OF THE IHO

IHB Files No. S1/4603 & S1/4826 CIRCULAR LETTER 62/2015 26 August 2015 REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO AND THE SOLOMON ISLANDS - APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP OF THE IHO Dear Hydrographer, 1. The Directing Committee is pleased to announce that applications for membership of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) have been received by the Government of the Principality of Monaco from the Governments of the Republic of the Congo and the Solomon Islands. 2. The Government of the Principality of Monaco, as Depositary for the Convention on the IHO, has initiated action to obtain the approval of the Member Governments of the IHO, in accordance with Article XX of the Convention on the IHO. This means that the Government of Monaco will contact all eligible Governments of the Member States of the IHO through formal diplomatic channels seeking approval for the Republic of Congo and the Solomon Islands to become members of the IHO. A copy of the diplomatic request will be provided separately to Hydrographers for ease of reference. 3. In accordance with the number of Member States eligible to vote on the dates of these two applications, with three States currently suspended (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic and Serbia), the approval of 55 Member States will be required. 4. IHO Member States that have ratified the Protocol of Amendments to the Convention on the IHO and those that have joined recently are reminded that the Protocol that they have already approved, but has yet to enter into force, includes a provision under which the application of any Member State of the United Nations, such as the Republic of the Congo and the Solomon Islands, would in future be automatic and not require the approval process described above. In that context, and as a logical consequence, the Directing Committee anticipates that those States that have already approved the Protocol of Amendments will be able to speedily approve the current applications of Congo and the Solomon Islands. 5. You are kindly requested to contact the appropriate officials in your Government with the responsibility for considering the approval of requests for membership of the IHO and to urge them to take action as soon as possible. If your Government approves these applications for membership of the IHO, the official notification should be sent directly to the Government of Monaco through the appropriate diplomatic channels with a copy of such notification being sent to the Bureau. On behalf of the Directing Committee Yours sincerely, Robert WARD President