1. The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and NorthernIreland as a depositary shall call a meeting of the Contracting Partiesnot later than three months after the entry into force of this Conventionto decide on organizational matters.

2. The Contracting Parties shall designate a competent Organizationexisting at the time of that meeting to be responsible for Secretariatduties in relation to this Convention. Any Party to this Convention notbeing a member of this Organization shall make an appropriate contributionto the expenses incurred by the Organization in performing these duties.

3. The Secretariat duties of the Organization shall include：

（a） the convening of consultative meetings of the ContractingParties not less frequently than once every two years and of specialmeetings of the Parties at any time on the request of two-thirds of theParties；

（b） preparing and assisting， in consultation with the ContractingParties and appropriate International Organizations， in the developmentand implementation of procedures referred to in sub-paragraph （4） （e） ofthis Article；

（c） considering enquiries by， and information from the ContractingParties， consulting with them and with the appropriate InternationalOrganizations， and providing recommendations to the Parties on questionsrelated to， but not specifically covered by the Convention；

（d） conveying to the Parties concerned all notifications receivedby the Organization in accordance with Articles IV （3）， V （1） and （2）， VI（4）， XV， XX and XXI.

Prior to the designation of the Organization these functions shall， asnecessary， be performed by the depositary， who for this purpose shall bethe Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and NorthernIreland.

4. Consultative or special meetings of the Contracting Parties shallkeep under continuing review the implementation of this Convention andmay， inter alias：

（a） review and adopt amendments to this Convention and itsAnnexes in accordance with Article XV；

[ See amendments adopted on October 12， 1978 reproduced after thetext of the Convention.]

（b） invite the appropriate scientific body or bodies tocollaborate with and to advise the Parties or the Organization on anyscientific or technical aspect relevant to this Convention， includingparticularly the content of the Annexes；

（c） receive and consider reports made pursuant to Article VI （4）；

（d） promote co-operation with and between regional organizationsconcerned with the prevention of marine pollution；

（e） develop or adopt， in consultation with appropriateInternational Organizations， procedures referred to in Article V （2），including basic criteria for determining exceptional and emergencysituations， and procedures for consultative advice and the safe disposalof matter in such circumstances， including the designation of appropriatedumping areas， and recommend accordingly；

（f） consider any additional action that may be required.

5. The Contracting Parties at their first consultative meeting shallestablish rules of procedure as necessary.

Article XV

1. （a） At meetings of the Contracting Parties called in accordancewith Article XIV amendments to this Convention may be adopted by atwo-thirds majority of those present. An amendment shall enter into forcefor the Parties which have accepted it on the sixtieth day aftertwo-thirds of the Parties shall have deposited an instrument of acceptanceof the amendment with the Organization. Thereafter the amendment shallenter into force for any other Party 30 days after that Party deposits itsinstrument of acceptance of the amendment.

[ See amendments adopted on October 12， 1978 reproduced after thetext of the Convention.]

（b） The Organization shall inform all Contracting Parties of anyrequest made for a special meeting under Article XIV and of any amendmentsadopted at meetings of the Parties and of the date on which each suchamendment enters into force for each Party.

2. Amendments to the Annexes will be based on scientific or technicalconsiderations. Amendments to the Annexes approved by a two-thirdsmajority of those present at a meeting called in accordance with ArticleXIV shall enter into force for each Contracting Party immediately onnotification of its acceptance to the Organization and 100 days afterapproval by the meeting for all other Parties except for those whichbefore the end of the 100 days make a declaration that they are not ableto accept the amendment at that time. Parties should endeavour to signifytheir acceptance of an amendment to the Organization as soon as possibleafter approval at a meeting. A Party may at any time substitute anacceptance for a previous declaration of objection and the amendmentpreviously objected to shall thereupon enter into force for that Party.

3. An acceptance or declaration of objection under this Article shallbe made by the deposit of an instrument with the Organization. TheOrganization shall notify all Contracting Parties of the receipt of suchinstruments.

4. Prior to the designation of the Organization， the Secretarialfunctions herein attributed to it， shall be performed temporarily be theGovernment of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland， asone of the depositories of this Convention.

Article XVI

This Convention shall be open for signature by any State at London，Mexico City， Moscow and Washington from December 29， 1972 until December31， 1973.

Article XVII

This Convention shall be subject to ratification. The instruments ofratification shall be deposited with the Governments of Mexico， the Unionof Soviet Socialist Republics， the United Kingdom of Great Britain andNorthern Ireland， and the United States of America.

Article XVIII

After December 31， 1973， this Convention shall be open for accessionby any State. The instruments of accession shall be deposited with theGovernments of Mexico， the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics， the UnitedKingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland， and the United States ofAmerica.

Article XIX

1. This Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth dayfollowing the date of deposit of the fifteenth instrument of ratificationor accession.

2. For each Contracting Party ratifying or acceding to the Conventionafter the deposit of the fifteenth instrument of ratification oraccession， the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth dayafter deposit by such Party of its instrument of ratification oraccession.

Article XX

The depositories shall inform Contracting Parties：

（a） of signatures to this Convention and of the deposit ofinstruments of ratification， accession or withdrawal， in accordance withArticles XVI， XVII， XVIII and XXI， and

（b） of the date on which this Convention will enter into force， inaccordance with Article XIX.

Article XXI

Any Contracting Party may withdraw from this Convention by giving sixmonths' notice in writing to a depositary， which shall promptly inform allParties of such notice.

Article XXII

The original of this Convention of which the English， French， Russianand Spanish texts are equally authentic， shall be deposited with theGovernments of Mexico， the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics， the UnitedKingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States ofAmerica who shall send certified copies thereof to all States.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned Plenipotentiaries， being dulyauthorized thereto by their respective Governments have signed the presentConvention.

[ Signatures omitted.]

DONE in quadruplicate at London， Mexico City， Moscow and Washington，this twenty-ninth day of December， 1972.

ANNEX I

1. Organohalogen compounds.

2. Mercury and mercury compounds.

3. Cadmium and cadmium compounds.

4. Persistent plastics and other persistent synthetic materials， forexample， netting and ropes， which may float or may remain in suspension inthe sea in such a manner as to interfere materially with fishing，navigation or other legitimate uses of the sea.

5. Crude oil， fuel oil， heavy diesel oil， and lubricating oils，hydraulic fluids， and any mixtures containing any of these， taken on boardfor the purpose of dumping.

6. High-level radio-active wastes or other high-level radio-activematter， defined on public health， biological or other grounds， by thecompetent international body in this field， at present the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency， as unsuitable for dumping at sea.

7. Materials in whatever form （e. g. solids， liquids， semi-liquids，gases or in a living state） produced for biological and chemical warfare.

8. The preceding paragraphs of this Annex do not apply to substanceswhich are rapidly rendered harmless by physical， chemical or biologicalprocesses in the sea provided they do not：

（i） make edible marine organisms unpalatable， or

（ii） endanger human health or that of domestic animals.

The consultative procedure provided for under Article XIV should befollowed by a Party if there is doubt about the harmlessness of thesubstance.

9. This Annex does not apply to wastes or other materials （e. g.sewage sludges and dredged spoils） containing the matters referred to inparagraphs 1-5 above as trace contaminants. Such wastes shall be subjectto the provisions of Annexes II and III as appropriate.