Council, 130th session, 21-24 November 2023

IMO Gender Equality Award 

The IMO Council, at its 130th session (C 130, 21-24 November), endorsed the decision of the Assessment Panel, to recommend Ms. Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou (Cyprus), former President of the Women's International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA International),  as the recipient of the first IMO Gender Equality Award, due to the pivotal and leading role she played in advancing gender equality and empowering women throughout her tenure as President of WISTA International. Ms. Panayiotou Theodosiou was nominated by Cyprus.

The Council decided to award Letters of Commendation to the following nominees: Mr. Mikael Skov of Denmark; Ms. Sanjam Sahi Gupta of India; Commodore Amit Srivastava of India; Ms. Eunjung Heo of the Republic of Korea; and Ms. Camille Dyan A. Simbulan of the Philippines.

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Draft resolutions approved

The Council approved proposed draft Assembly resolutions, for submission to the Assembly, on:

  • Strategic Plan for the six-year period 2024 to 2029

  • Application of the Strategic Plan for the Organization

  • Results-based budget for the 2024-2025 biennium

  • Appreciation of the services to the Organization of Mr. K. Lim

  • Enhancement of multilingualism at IMO 

IMO Member State Audit Scheme – schedule endorsed

Since the commencement of mandatory audits of Member States under the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) in February 2016, 118 audits have been conducted, in line with the overall audit schedule.

The Council endorsed the revised audit scheme. The Council encouraged Member States to enhance women's participation in the Audit Scheme.

Ukraine – Register of Damage

The Council noted information provided on the current status of UNGA resolution A/RES/ES-11/5 on Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine.

The Council requested the Secretary-General, in light of the establishment by the Council of Europe of a Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine, to liaise with the Register of Damage established in The Hague in order to establish a means of identify means of cooperation, and report to C 132 for further deliberation; and encouraged IMO Member States to participate in the work of the Register.