PROGRESS REPORTED ON SEABED AUTHORITY'S KINGSTON OFFICES AS ASSEMBLY DISCUSSES SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ANNUAL REPORT

Press Release
SEA/1632

PROGRESS REPORTED ON SEABED AUTHORITY'S KINGSTON OFFICES AS ASSEMBLY DISCUSSES SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ANNUAL REPORT

(Received from International Seabed Authority.)

KINGSTON, 17 August -- The Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, Satya N. Nandan, informed the Assembly of the Authority this morning that "good progress" had been made in negotiations with the Jamaican Government on arrangements for the Authority's headquarters space in Kingston, where the Authority is holding its 1999 session.

Presenting his annual report on the work of the Authority (ISBA/5/A/1), Mr. Nandan said the host country had accepted his proposal to have the Authority lease one floor of the building in downtown Kingston where it is now renting, rather than take over the entire building as Jamaica had suggested last year. He hoped that, once the Assembly accepted these arrangements, the long-pending headquarters agreement with the Government could be approved and signed.

Regarding the substantive work of the Authority, Mr. Nandan said among other things, that a recent workshop at Kingston on developments in seabed mining technology had disclosed a trend towards greater emphasis on environmental protection in the development of mining systems. He also urged the Authority's members to speed their work on a mining code for polymetallic nodules in the international seabed area.

Several delegations commented on the work of the Authority as the Assembly devoted its meeting to a discussion of the Secretary-General's report. Statements were made by Cameroon, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Senegal, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania and the United States.

The Assembly completed its slate of officers by electing the Czech Republic, nominated by the Group of Eastern European States, as one of four vice-presidents. The others, nominated earlier by their geographic groups, are Italy, the Republic of Korea and Senegal.

Secretary-General's Remarks

During his hour-long presentation, Mr. Nandan disclosed that in recent negotiations, not yet completed, the Jamaican Government had agreed to the idea of a long-term lease of headquarters space, as he had proposed. This would avoid the expense of managing the entire four-storey building, and having to find tenants for the three floors that the Authority did not need for its own use. He expected that, beginning in 2001, the arrangement could result in lower costs than the Authority was now budgeting for rent.

He also noted that the Authority, last October, had received the additional space it had sought in the building, giving it enough to accommodate future expansion of staff. It had refurbished the offices within existing budgetary allocations.

In the ensuing debate, the Jamaican representative welcomed the progress of negotiations and hoped they would lead to prompt approval of the headquarters agreement. "The Government of Jamaica will give its full support for the efficient operation of the secretariat under the proposed arrangements", he stated.

On other matters, the Secretary-General reported that Ukraine and Vanuatu had recently adhered to the 1992 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and would thus shortly become members of the Authority after 30 days elapsed following deposit of their instruments of ratification. He urged other States to join as soon as possible, and also to adhere to the 1994 Agreement on the Implementation of Part XI (seabed provisions) of the Convention and the 1998 Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the Authority.

He reported that 1998 had been financially difficult for the Authority, because members had paid only 71 per cent of the budgetary assessments, with the result that some planned activities had to be postponed. "To those who are in arrears for last year, I can only say that I urge them to please pay your dues, because it is your duty", Mr. Nandan remarked. The current year showed an improvement, however, with about 85 per cent having been received so far.

Turning to substantive matters, the Secretary-General stressed the importance of approving as soon as possible, the draft mining code for exploration for polymetallic nodules in the deep seabed, now under consideration in the Council. Until those "rules of the road" were approved, the Authority would be unable to issue contracts to the pioneer investors, whose exploration plans the Council had approved two years ago. Moreover, delay in approval would create the impression that the Authority had not made

progress in this area, and would put off the start of contractors' reporting requirements.

Discussing the outcome of the workshop on the development of guidelines for assessing possible environmental impacts of exploration, held by the Authority at Sanya, China, in June 1998, the Secretary-General said one point that had emerged was the need for the Authority to develop a model to encourage collaborative international environmental research on matters going beyond the capabilities of individual mining entities. The Legal and Technical Commission would shortly be proposing a meeting with scientists to work out such a model.

Regarding the workshop on seabed mining technology held at Kingston from 3 to 6 August, Mr. Nandan said participants had brought out the fact that, whereas in the early years, emphasis had been placed on the reliability and capacity of equipment, subsequent emphasis had been placed on environmentally friendly design. He described this as a significant development in the evolution of the technology. Other participants had described technology used for undersea diamond mining off the Namibian coast, and the types of equipment that might be utilized for future mining of polymetallic sulphides in other offshore areas. Describing plans to develop the POLYDAT database on polymetallic nodules, he said the Authority was seeking to acquire data which were being discarded by institutions that no longer wanted the information.

He noted the Authority's intention of convening a workshop next year to keep abreast of developments on polymetallic sulphides. Because such deposits were more concentrated in their distribution than nodules, which were strewn over wide areas, regulating their exploration and exploitation might require a different kind of legal regime.

Finally, the Secretary-General observed that the Authority was beginning to place greater emphasis on scientific and technical matters, now that work on legal and political issues was well advanced.

Comments by Delegations

In the discussion on the Authority's work, speakers commented on such topics as relations with the host country, the status of budgetary contributions, progress on the mining code, training and the collection of data, and regulations governing prospecting of minerals other than polymetallic nodules.

Opening the debate, Jamaica announced its intention of creating a Department of Marine Affairs, within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, as the "direct link" with the Authority's secretariat to ensure efficient treatment of all matters involving the obligations of the host country.

Many speakers were encouraged by the positive developments regarding office space. However, the United Kingdom hoped that maintenance costs would not rise too high, and the United States sought clarification on the source of funds for refurbishing the additional space now occupied by the Authority.

On the subject of contributions to the budget of the Authority, Indonesia said the European Community should be regularly assessed, inasmuch as expenses would increase with time, and former provisional members would no longer be contributing. The United Kingdom recalled the legal obligations of provisional members, observing that some still had substantial payments outstanding. Ghana called for incentives for members that paid their contributions on time.

Commenting on the work on the mining code, most delegations supported the priority being given to finalizing the document. While China thought that the process could be accelerated, the Czech Republic called for patience, and stressed that the ultimate goal was to produce a code that would ensure fair treatment to all States.

China, the Czech Republic, Indonesia and the United Republic of Tanzania encouraged the secretariat to move forward with regulations that would govern prospecting, and exploration for minerals other than polymetallic nodules, as requested at last August's session by the Russian Federation. China suggested a workshop on the mining of such deposits, while the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom called on the Assembly to make full use of the three-year period allowed after such a request, during which time action by the Authority was called for under Article 162 of the Convention. The United States sought clarification on a paragraph in the Secretary-General's report which, it said, gave the impression that the Authority had an obligation to adopt these regulations within the next three years.

Several delegations, including France, Ghana and the Republic of Korea, supported the secretariat's initiatives on training programmes organized by pioneer seabed investors to benefit personnel from developing countries and the Authority. The Republic of Korea, which is currently sponsoring such training as part of its obligation as a registered pioneer investor, observed that its programme, begun in March, was to last for 10 months.

Many speakers expressed the view that the Secretary-General should have the flexibility to make practical decisions in the interest of the Authority, prior to their approval by the Assembly. The United Republic of Tanzania favoured extensive travel by the Secretary-General to communicate the

philosophy of the Authority, in order to develop international support for the organization.

A number of delegations, including Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, the Sudan and the United States, said they were close to adhering to the Convention and/or the 1994 Agreement on the Implementation of Part XI (seabed provisions) of the Convention, and thus becoming full members of the Authority. The United States observer stated: "We are continuing our good-faith efforts to obtain accession to the Convention, and ratification of the Agreement by the United States. The Administration has placed the Convention on the highest priority list of treaties for which it seeks action by the Government". The United Kingdom repeated a suggestion made at the last session that the Secretary-General make informal contacts, and hold consultations with countries that have yet to become party to the Convention.

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