UNCLOS

Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – Meeting 28

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Source: https://www.technocracy.news/back-un-convention-law-sea-unclos/

This meeting is the first session of the annual meeting of states to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The meeting began with the opening remarks given by Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares. He gave the background of UNCLOS and reiterated the role of it as the constitution of the seas. He then emphasized the main objective of the counsel, which is to dedicate to the conservation of the oceans and the sustainable use of the resources in the seas, as outlined in SDG 14.

Following the introduction, the meeting went on to focus on the annual report of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in 2017. The newly elected president of ITLOS firstly announced and congratulated the seven elected judges as members of the Tribunal. Additionally, he highlighted the judicial work of ITLOS on the dispute between Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana on the delimitation of maritime boundary. Seeing the non-existence of agreement, the Tribunal delimited the boundary for territorial sea, the exclusive economic area and the continental shelf between the Parties. Also, the Tribunal rejected Côte d’Ivoire’s claim that Ghana violated its sovereign rights. As for the case of the disputes between Panama and Italy, the Tribunal announced that it has not reached the final decisions. Apart from the judicial matters, Mr. Paik highlighted the capacity-building activities to empower developing countries with personnel and expertise on the law of the sea.

The second half of the meeting centered on the annual report of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The Secretary General summarized three major ongoing developments in the Authority, namely, the strategic plan, the Mining Code, and the Regional Environmental Management Plans (REMPs). Having recognized the decreased contribution of the member states, Mr. Michael Lodge called for continuing budgetary commitments.

Meeting: Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – Meeting 28

Date/Location: Monday 11th June 2018; 10:00 to 13:00; Conference Room 1, United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY

Speakers:

Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations

Mr. Jin-Hyun Paik, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

Mr. Michael W Lodge, Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA)

Written By: WIT Representative Vivian Wang

UN Working Group Meets to Discuss the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity

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With a view to provide recommendations to the UN General Assembly, the eighth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group was convened today to discuss issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction (ABNJ). This meeting was the second of the three meetings to discuss the scope, parameters and feasibility of a possible new international instrument.

During the opening session this morning, Co-Chair Ms. Lijnzaad delivered an opening remark to encourage the Working Group to move forward together in achieving an effective legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ, and reassured the necessity of a new international instrument. She mentioned the need to address legal, regulatory and implementation gaps such as addressing fragmentation in governance, and to develop a benefit-sharing regime for marine genetic resources.

ImageMember states and parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) were invited to consider the organization of the work of the meeting. Norway remained open to negotiate a new implementing agreement that can add value to the existing international legal framework, and recommended a needs-based approach to identify legal gaps in the present regime. Norway also emphasized clarity, predictability and confidence among the Working Group, and pointed out practical needs were of great concern in which feasibility is a product of scope and parameters.

The European Union supported a new agreement and called for other parties to have strong political will to achieve the goals of marine conservation. The new agreement should also specify duties of parties in terms of identifying a practical solution and implementation in order to strengthen interaction and coordination across regions and sectors. Mexico and Austria pointed out it is not necessary to establish a new structure, rather the new agreement should be fully integrated into the established Law of the Sea architecture and in full compliance with the existing regimes, while avoiding redundancy. Mexico also pointed out that the legal framework should be functionally well defined to ensure greater coordination and capacity building. Lastly, Trinidad and Tobago stressed the need to take into account a precautionary principle, and Austria stressed the need for ecosystem-based management in the new agreement.

 

Meeting Title: Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction
Speakers: Ms. Liesbeth Lijnzaad, Legal Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands; Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel
Location: United Nations HQ, Conference Room 1, New York
Date: 16 June 2014
Written by WIT representative: Tracy Lau
Edited by WIT Representative: Marli Kasdan