Mbanefo Earns Support for IMO Secretary-General Bid

Monica Mbanefo is gathering support for her bid to become the next Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization. A substantial number of the 162 member states of IMO have already declared their support for her in advance of the elections in June 2003. Mbanefo is currently Director of the Conference Division of IMO. She says, "IMO is at a critical point in its development and it is important for the whole maritime world that the Secretary-General who follows Bill O'Neil's successful period in office should combine both experience of the maritime world and demonstrable competence in running a large specialized UN agency. I'm proud that the African Union has proposed me as a candidate for the post and pleased at the degree of international support I have received already."

A qualified barrister, Mbanefo worked for the Federal Ministry of Justice of Nigeria from 1973 - 1991, drafting laws and representing Nigeria in various international organizations. In 1991 she was appointed Senior Deputy Director/Head of the Legal Office of IMO. In this capacity she was Secretary to the IMO Legal Committee and to several diplomatic conferences which, amongst other things, led to the successful adoption of the 1992 CLC and Fund Protocols, the HNS Convention and the Arrest of Ships 1999 Convention. Mbanefo restructured the Legal Office of IMO to improve its efficiency, and in 1999 was promoted to Director, Conference Division. She is now in charge of over one third of IMO's staff, and for the last four years has focused on strengthening and reinforcing efficiency throughout the organization. Supporters of Mbanefo say that, in addition to her managerial skills, which will benefit efficiency at IMO, she has the ability to unite member states and so improve implementation of existing regulations. To date, four European nations including two EU states, the forty African Union states, and substantial majorities of Latin American and Asian states have indicated that they support her candidature.