COMMISSION ON THE LIMITS OF THE CONTINENTAL SHELF COMPLETES SEVENTH SESSION

Press Release
SEA/1682

COMMISSION ON THE LIMITS OF THE CONTINENTAL SHELF COMPLETES SEVENTH SESSION

NEW YORK, 31 May (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) -- The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its seventh session from 1 to 5 May. The first day of the session was devoted to an open meeting, attended by member States of the United Nations and legal advisors and experts in marine sciences relevant to establishing the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured (referred to as an extended continental shelf). The participants were apprised of developments in the Commission, and presentations were made to assist coastal States in the preparation of submissions to the Commission on the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. (For the Press Release on the open meeting, see SEA/1673/Rev.1, 4 May 2000.)

The main issues on the agenda for the remainder of the session were matters relating to training for experts, especially in developing States, who would be preparing the submissions for an extended continental shelf to the Commission. In that context, the Commission prepared a basic flowchart for preparation of a submission of a coastal State to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. It also prepared the first draft of modules for a five day training course with time estimates for preparation of material, to be taken up again at the eighth session of the Commission, scheduled to take place from 28 August to 1 September 2000.

The Commission also discussed the issue of confidentiality, and adopted additional provisions to Annex II to its Rules of Procedure (CLCS/3/Rev.2).

Training

During the session, the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Yuri Kazmin, recalled that several tasks within the action plan on training approved at the sixth session (CLCS/18, paragraphs 14 - 18) had already been accomplished. Letters inquiring about possibilities for training activities for those preparing submissions had been dispatched to intergovernmental organizations relevant to the work of the Commission, namely to the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. Relevant portions of General Assembly resolution 54/31 reflected general support for the Commission’s activities and for the action plan on training in particular.

The main focus of the remainder of the seventh session was to identify the needs and target for training and the preparation of a manual in the form of a flowchart describing the actions to be undertaken by a coastal State during the process of preparing a submission to the Commission. It also decided to produce training modules for an envisaged five day training course. The purpose of the training

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activities was to promote a better understanding of article 76 of the Convention as well as of the Guidelines, in particular taking into account the needs of developing States, in order to assist those States in the preparation of their submissions to the Commission.

In furtherance of that aim, the Commission prepared a training manual in the form of a flowchart and decided:

-- To adopt provisionally, pending the preparation of a technical publication in the form of a training manual, the basic flowchart for the preparation of a submission, and to issue the flowchart as a document of the Commission entitled “Basic flowchart for preparation of a submission of a coastal State to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf”, on the understanding that it was of a recommendatory nature aimed at assisting States in preparing their submissions;

-- To request the Secretariat of the United Nations, namely its Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, to include in its work program the preparation of a technical publication in the form of a training manual, based on the basic flowchart for preparation of a submission, on the understanding that the publication would be part of the series of technical publications prepared independently by the Division within its general mandate, as specified by relevant resolutions of the General-Assembly;

-- To request the Secretariat to prepare, in close cooperation with the members of the Commission and on the basis of a detailed training course outline, as well as information to be provided in writing by the Commission, a cost estimate for an initial five-day training course. For details on the factors to be taken into account in preparing the estimate, see the Statement by the Chairman of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on the progress of work in the Commission (CLCS/21, 5 May 2000). The possibility of financing costs of travel, accommodation and the participation of members of the Commission from developing States would also be considered. No time limit was imposed on the Secretariat for the preparation of the cost estimate.

A curriculum module for a five-day training course, including time estimates for the preparation of materials, was prepared and approved provisionally. The Secretariat will in turn prepare the requested cost estimate on the basis of this information. Members of the Commission would continue work on the training course during the intersessional period in order to further develop the module before the next session. The intended participants in this course should be from among professionals in the fields of geophysics, geology, hydrography and geodesy who would be applying the Scientific and Technical Guidelines in developing States. At least a bachelor’s degree in those fields should be required for the participants to qualify.

Confidentiality

With respect to the issue of confidentiality, a permanent Committee on Confidentiality was established inter alia to consider procedures to be followed by the Commission in case of an allegation of breach of confidentiality. The

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Committee would also propose changes, if and when needed, to the Rules of Procedure (CLCS/3/Rev.2). The members of the Committee, who are from each of the five regional groups, are Mr. Galo Carrera (Chairman), Mr. Andre Chan Chim Yuk, Mr. Kazuchika Hamuro, Mr. Peter Croker and Mr. Mladen Juracic. It was pointed out that the rules on confidentiality did not extend the confidentiality regime to the deliberations of the Commission, but rather covered only the material that the submitting State identifies as confidential. Therefore Annex II (Duty to preserve confidentiality) was amended (see CLCS/21, paragraph 19).

Trust Fund

The Commission discussed the matter of establishment of the trust fund for the purpose of financing the participation of members from developing countries in the work of the Commission. It took note of the conclusions of the Meeting of States Parties that, in order to formulate any recommendation on the issue, the Meeting needed information in writing from the Commission regarding actual needs and financial estimates for each session. The Commission approved a letter to be sent by the Chairman of the Commission to the President of the tenth Meeting of States Parties containing the information and estimates requested.

The letter further informed the President that, in response to the request by several delegations at the ninth Meeting, the statements of the Chairman on the work of the Commission would continue to be available to the delegations at the Meetings of States Parties to appraise them of the activities of the Commission. It also drew the attention of States Parties to the Open Meeting of the Commission held on 1 May 2000 and to the documents of that Meeting.

Future publications

The Commission decided to issue a publication on its activities from 1997 to 2000, as well as on relevant activities of its members, and requested the Secretariat of the Commission to prepare it. The publication would include all major documents of the Commission, presentations made during the open meeting, as well as a summary of discussions. Other presentations concerning the work of the Commission made by Commission members to other forums, for example to the ABLOS Conference, would also be included. The Commission took note of the information provided by the Secretariat concerning the programme of publications and budgetary constraints, and requested that appropriate budgetary provisions be made for the next biennium.

It was also agreed that the Secretariat would issue a report on the open meeting of the Commission which would cover the presentations by members of the Commission and a summary of questions and answers discussed during the meeting.

The Commission was apprised of the suggestion by the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority that the presentations given during the Open Meeting might be of interest to the Authority. Although no specific proposal was made, the presence of some members of the Commission at the Authority meetings might lend itself to facilitating the process. It was decided that such presentations may be given at the next session of the Authority if the Commission is officially requested to do so by the Secretary-General of the Authority.

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The Commission decided that its eighth session would be held for one week, from 28 August to 1 September 2000, to further discuss the matters of training and the issue of confidentiality, as well as to commence deliberations on other unresolved issues as may be necessary.

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