SECRETARY-GENERAL OF SEABED AUTHORITY SUBMITS REPORT TO ASSEMBLY

Press Release
SEA/1594

SECRETARY-GENERAL OF SEABED AUTHORITY SUBMITS REPORT TO ASSEMBLY

(Reissued as received.)

KINGSTON, 19 August (International Seabed Authority) -- Secretary-General Satya N. Nandan of the International Seabed Authority today presented his annual report to the Assembly of the Authority, which is holding a two-week session at the Conference Centre in Kingston, Jamaica.

The report (document ISBA/4/A/11, summarized in background press release of 14 August) included information about the Authority's activities during the past year and a proposed budget and work programme for 1999. The discussion of the report in today's meeting concerned such matters as the serious financial shortfall being faced by the Authority, the situation concerning provisional members facing a deadline for ratification of the Convention, and difficulties in reaching an agreement with the Government of Jamaica concerning the headquarters of the Authority.

During the meeting China, referring to the Assembly President's 17 August appeal to members urging them to pay their dues, informed the Assembly that China's payment is being made this week ($37,053).

Status of Provisional Members

The Assembly heard comments of delegates and the Secretary-General referring to the uncertain future membership status of the 11 provisional members of the Authority. As noted in the Secretary-General's report, provisional membership for all 11 States will terminate on 16 November 1998. Provisional members which have not ratified the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and related 1994 Agreement by 16 November would no longer be members of the Authority, under the terms of the 1994 Agreement.

There are potential budgetary implications, since the Authority assesses contributions from provisional members as well as regular members. For the 11 provisional members, the assessed contributions for the 1998 period amounted to $1,525,923 -- nearly one third of the total Authority budget of $4,703,900 for 1998. The largest assessments were for the United States ($1,175,975, not

yet paid), Canada ($149,532, paid), and Switzerland ($58,178, paid $52,996). Assessed amounts due for 1998 have not been paid by the other provisional members (Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Nepal, Poland, Qatar, Ukraine, and United Arab Emirates).

One provisional member, Poland, has informed the Authority that its ratification process has been completed. The United States has briefed delegates on efforts of the United States Government to obtain early action by the Senate to approve the Convention.

In the discussion today, the United Kingdom noted that the 16 November deadline was approaching and suggested that the Secretary-General communicate with provisional member Governments to remind them of the situation, particularly those with no representatives at the current session. Secretary-General Nandan said he would be writing to the provisional members soon.

Representatives of Romania, Indonesia, Argentina, India, Uruguay, and Trinidad and Tobago expressed concern about the status of the provisional members after 16 November.

Headquarters Discussion

Updating the Assembly on the headquarters situation, Mr. Nandan referred to the letter of 10 March 1998, in which the Government of Jamaica had offered the building currently occupied by the Authority for its permanent use and occupation. At the March meetings, the Secretary-General said that a report on the financial and other implications for the Authority of this offer would be made to the Assembly by the August session. This report would be based on an assessment of the condition of the building and an estimate of the costs for its future maintenance.

Mr. Nandan regretted that he was not in a position to present this report as it was only last Thursday that the necessary technical personnel had been permitted access to the building to make this assessment. He assured members that if the report became available before the end of the session, it would be presented to the Assembly. The additional space offered since August 1997 as an interim measure had also failed to materialize. As a result, the staff of the Secretariat were obliged to work under very cramped conditions which were not conducive to efficient operation. While he was convinced of the good intentions of the officers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Nandan said the Secretariat had reached the point where "we'll believe it when we see it".

Several delegations expressed concern about the lack of progress on this issue and hoped that both parties would work towards an early conclusion of

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the agreement. The representative of Jamaica gave the assurance that action at the highest political level would be taken to ensure a speedy resolution.

Contracts for Pioneer Investors

The Secretary-General said approval of plans of exploration work by seven registered pioneer investors was among the Authority's most important milestones. These plans of work, approved by the Council last August, were to have been issued by the Secretariat in the form of contracts, which the Secretary-General noted could not be done until the mining code was completed. The report stated that "the priority is to complete work on the draft mining code so that contracts can be issued. Until contracts are issued, the legal position of the registered pioneer investors remains unclear".

Several representatives questioned the reference to an "unclear" legal position. The representative of France noted the rights of the pioneer investors had been confirmed with the approval of their plans of work. He agreed that a gap existed between the recognition of these rights and formalization of an agreement, but that this gap had been accepted by the investors in 1997 and the context had not changed since that time. He said it was therefore inaccurate to say that the legal position of these investors was unclear. India agreed with this view, saying the pioneer investors would receive contracts as "a matter of right and automaticity", and there were no further legal requirements to be met.

Other Matters

The Secretary-General reported on the workshop convened by the Authority and held in China in June 1998 on the development of guidelines for the assessment of possible environmental impacts arising from exploration for polymetallic nodules. The workshop proved very useful and the guidelines were being reviewed and will be submitted to the Legal and Technical Commission for its consideration.

One of the highlights of the workshop, he said, was the desire among scientists for a coordinated approach towards scientific research and the need for a proper and cost-effective system for the exchange of knowledge, reducing duplication of research. It was felt that the Authority, in light of its mandate to promote scientific research, would be the appropriate body to help prepare a model research programme. Mr. Nandan said the Authority would welcome this step. Speaking on the matter of training, Mr. Nandan informed the meeting that the Secretariat had received a large number of nominations from a wide cross-section of the membership of candidates for the training programme to be conducted in the Republic of Korea in March 1999. These nominations would be submitted to the Legal and Technical Commission and that body, in consultation with the Government of the Republic of Korea, would make the awards.

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A number of delegations expressed their approval of the training workshop in China and welcomed the workshop to take place next year. The representative of Indonesia, supported by Argentina, sought the assurance that the Authority would benefit from the knowledge gained by the trainees. He called for future workshops to be planned, bearing in mind the accessibility of the venue and its proximity to facilities for marine studies, and stressed that the Authority must make every effort to control costs in conducting such workshops.

The representative of China said the workshops needed to be more "forward-looking" and should begin to study resources other than polymetallic nodules. He also welcomed the development of a database by the Authority and hoped that it would be connected to the database of other countries to facilitate the sharing of information.

Budget and Finance

The budget and finance of the Authority received major treatment in the report of the Secretary-General to the Assembly. Mr. Nandan noted that 1998 is the first year during which the budget is funded through direct contributions from member States. In both 1996 and 1997, the administrative expenses of the Authority were met from the regular budget of the United Nations. He said the proposed 1999 budget continues to follow the "evolutionary approach to the setting up and functioning of the organs of the Authority". This approach was reflected in the 1997 budget and endorsed by the Assembly. (For details of the budget proposal, see background press release of 14 August and document ISBA/4/A/10.) The Secretary-General reminded the Assembly that to date, only 59 of the 138 members had contributed a total of $2,856,300 towards the 1998 budget of $4,703,900. He appealed to those members who were delinquent to pay their assessed contributions in an effort to pull the Authority out of what he described as "a really difficult situation". Mr. Nandan said that in the efforts to keep costs to the lowest possible level, the Finance Committee was considering the possibility of holding a single three-week session next year, instead of two two-week sessions.

Council Continues Study of Mining Code

At its informal meeting this afternoon, the Council continued its paragraph-by-paragraph examination of the draft mining code. It discussed Regulations 4 and 5, particularly with regard to the subject of confidentiality of information. * *** *