The United Nations has ruled that the Japanese government breached international human rights law by detaining two Greenpeace activists who uncovered corruption in the Japanese whaling program. The news comes ahead of the trial of the activists.

As another IWC annual meeting draws to a close, a small yet significant step was taken to stamp out corruption. Yet once again, no decisions were made to bring in widespread conservation measures for the world’s whales.

Behind closed doors at the International Whaling Commission (IWC), governments essentially ushered in another year of status quo in which around 2000 whales may die needlessly.Once again, the IWC failed to deliver for whales.

Recently, there have been reports in The Age and on the ABC that suggest Greenpeace has 'softened' its position on whaling, and commercial whaling in particular. We haven’t and we won’t.