4. ENCOURAGES Member Governments, when seeking technical assistance from or through the Organization, to provide the Secretary-General with the results of their most recent self-assessment, so as to enable and assist the Secretary-General to identify, qualify and quantify, in consultation with the State concerned, the needs and the priorities of the State in question. For this purpose, any submission of the results is not a prerequisite for seeking or obtaining technical assistance. In this respect, any such submission is to be treated with the utmost and strictest confidence;
5. INVITES Member Governments to submit, on a voluntary basis, to the Organization a copy of their self-assessment report in order to enable the establishment of a database which would assist the Organization in its efforts to achieve consistent and effective implementation of IMO instruments;
6. REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee and the Marine Environment Protection Committee to consider other measures necessary to ensure the effective and consistent global implementation of IMO instruments and, in doing so, to pay particular attention to the special difficulties faced by some Member States; and
7. REQUESTS ALSO the Maritime Safety Committee and the Marine Environment Protection Committee to keep the Guidance under continuous review and update it in the light of their work on the matter.
ANNEX
GUIDANCE TO ASSIST FLAG STATES IN THE SELF-ASSESSMENT OF THEIR PERFORMANCE
[MSC 71/23/Add. 1, annex 11, annex]
