2. Agenda Item 2. - Consideration of terms of reference - future work of the Joint Working Group and priorities
2.1 The terms of reference is at Appendix C*. Under Agenda Item two, one paper was presented regarding the development of minimum standards and guidelines relating to operational SAR services. It was suggested that there were grounds for the development of stand alone international standards for rescue co-ordination centres (RCCs) and RCC personnel. These could be prepared by the JWG and would establish international guidelines for the management and operation of RCCs and all areas of a RCC's operational responsibility, to be agreed by ICAO and IMO. The proposal was supported by the JWG and the following recommendation was formulated.
Recommendation 6/1 - Development of minimum standards and guidelines
That, members of the JWG develop proposals relating to minimum standards and guidelines for management and operation of RCCs, to be presented to JWG/7.
3. Agenda Item 3. - Provision of conventions, plans, manuals and other documents affecting SAR
3.1 Further work on the joint Manual - publication, translation, distribution and updating
3.1.1 The JWG noted that during the drafting of the IAMSAR Manual it had been observed that the Manual would need to be easily amended for corrections or updating. That was, inter alia, one of the reasons for choosing the loose leaf format for the manual. However as the amendment proposals had to be submitted to IMO, ICAO and the JWG to be approved by both Organizations, the time required for amendments could become unacceptable. The JWG agreed that there was a need to revise the procedures of IMO so that amendments could be made more rapidly. For that reason it was proposed that:
a) minor editorial amendments should be proposed by the JWG and decided jointly by the Secretariats of ICAO and IMO;
b) urgent amendments should be made provisionally by the competent bodies of ICAO and IMO after consultation with the Secretariat of the other Organization, to be confirmed by a "normal amendment"; and
c) normal amendments should follow the procedure for COMSAR Circulars with a provisional adoption by COMSAR and endorsement by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC).
3.1.2 It was noted that, while ICAO procedures allowed for a very quick updating of the Manual, the IMO procedures involved a time period of up to two years before and amendment proposed by the JWG could be adopted, and as the IAMSAR Manual was a joint manual, the procedures of IMO dictated the pace at which amendments could be approved. It was further noted that COMSAR Circulars could be published before approval by the MSC. It was proposed that amendments to the IAMSAR Manual could possibly be seen to be at the level of Circulars which would allow for a faster approval process and earlier publication of essential material. The JWG agreed that, since the manual did not contain international law but guidance material to assist States in implementing an efficient SAR service, the procedures could be detached from those required to change the Convention. Therefore, it was agreed that a proposal be submitted to the MSC that the COMSAR Sub-Committee or a group of experts be authorized to approve amendments to the Manual. To make information immediately available to States it was agreed that amendment proposal should be published, in draft form, on the http://www.rcc-net.org website for information. In this context the JWG commended the Canadian Coast Guard for publishing the JWG/6 working papers on the website, which had allowed members of the Group quick access.
*See COMSAR 4/INF.2
