The activist Paul Watson was arrested in Greeland by the Danish authorities and risks an extradition to Japan for his action for the protection of whales. At 73 years old, Paul Watson wrote a letter to Emmanuel Macron and asked for political asylum in France, hoping that he won’t be extradited before.
Paul Watson’s attachement to France
Paul Watson adressed two letters to Emmanuel Macron asking for asylum in France. In these two letters, Paul Watson expressed how much France meant to him, both personally and politically. He talked about how much he respected France’s involvement in the safety of marine conservation.
Paul Watson became close to France after his resignation from Sea Shepherd Global, while Sea Shepherd France supported him. For the record, in 2014, Francois Hollande, then president of France, offered Paul Watson to move to France. The activist’s ties to France are many. Firstly with his family in France, but also with famous personalities such as Nicolas Hulot or Brigitte Bardot.
“I have observed conservation efforts that have made me proud of France’s efforts”.
In fact, France has always been involved in the conservation of marine biodiversity. The story began in 1946 when France signed the International Whaling Comission.
France signed the CITES Convention in 1973, the Barcelona Convention in 1976 and the Bern Convention in 1979. To do more to protect cetaceans, France decided to adopt it’s own action plan: The Action Plan for the Conservation of cetaceans in 2020. France has decided not only not to hunt the whale, but also to actively protect it by knowing it better. As Paul Watson wrote in his letter, France’s maritime space is the second largest in the world and 60% of marine species known to date pass through French waters. This makes France a major player in the protection of marine species.
In October this year, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Ecologic Transition in France, expressed her support for Paul Watson’s liberation. She also added that , for her and for the President of the Republic, there is “no reason to keep Paul Watson in prison” and that she express her wish for his release to her Danish counterpart.
Arrested in Nuuk, Greenland
On 21 July, Paul Watson was after the Kangei-Maru, new Japanese whaler. He stopped at Nuuk in Greenland to refuel his boat, the Jean-Paul Déjoria II. He benefited from the fact that his Red Notice from Japan had been removed of Interpol to go back to sea. Indeed, since November, Paul Watson thought he might be under a statute of limitations. However, the Red Notice was still in force. Since then, Paul Watson has been held in custody by the Danish government and could be extradited to Japan. The Sea Sheperd activist is being accused by Japan of “conspiration of trespassing”, “injuring and destruction of property,” and “obstruction to business” concerning 2012 event.
Whale hunting still continue: Paul Watson vs Japan
Three countries still hunt whales. For traditional reasons, Japan, Norway and Iceland still go to sea for this hunting activity (although it is limited every year in Iceland). Over-exploitation of whales threatened this activity as early as 1931. At that time, the parties signed the Regulation on Whale Hunting to prevent crisis and extinction. Over the years, countries such as the ex URSS have stopped this activity, but not Japan. Although the country of Nippon signed the International Whaling Commission, it reneged on its commitment in 2018 in order to continue to hunt whales. the International Court of Justice condemned Japan for its illegal hunting methods when it was still in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Agreement. Since that Japan has the right to hunt in its EEZ because. Paul Watson has become so effective that Japan’s hunt involves a military vessel with 250 soldiers on board and 3 helicopter.
To date, no convention prohibits countries from hunting whales in their EEZs or territorial waters if they haven’t signed the IWC
