SECRETARY-GENERAL SATYA N. NANDAN REPORTS TO SEABED ASSEMBLY
Press Release
SEA/1687
SECRETARY-GENERAL SATYA N. NANDAN REPORTS TO SEABED ASSEMBLY
20000706 biographical note(Received from International Seabed Authority.)
KINGSTON, 5 July -- Ideas on developing a research programme in which States and organizations would cooperate in gathering and sharing information about the deep seabed environment were placed before the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority in Kingston this morning as Secretary-General Satya N. Nandan presented his annual report on the work of the organization.
As government and private funds for such studies were diminishing due to the deferral of commercial seabed mining, Mr. Nandan stated, the Authority hoped to interest pioneer investors and others in agreeing to finance a research programme that could eventually be brought to the Council and Assembly. The Authority's role might be as a catalyst and executing agency under a model programme in which others might provide researchers and ships.
In other action, the Assembly replaced three members of the Finance Committee who have resigned.
The next meeting of the Assembly is scheduled for 3 p.m. tomorrow, 6 July.
Secretary-General's Report
The 15-page report discussed today (document ISBA/6/A/9) outlines the organizational arrangements and substantive work of the Authority between July 1999 and June 2000. It presents financial information and concludes with an indication of future work.
Secretary-General Nandan, who began his second four-year term of office in June 2000, spoke today of the need for better cooperation among those active in seabed matters, particularly in regard to the environment. There had been much duplication of studies, and some activities had slowed or been placed on hold. Many of those who had disturbed the sea floor in their exploratory work wished to monitor the effects but could not do so for lack of funds.
The secretariat had outlined a programme that it would place before the Legal and Technical Commission, which had previously indicated interest in the idea, he remarked. If others could be found to provide funds, a more detailed plan would be brought to the Council and Assembly. The Authority could contribute in staff time and by organizing workshops, without any additional budgetary appropriations.
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Speaking of institutional matters, Mr. Nandan expressed hope that the Jamaican Government would quickly begin negotiations with the Authority on a supplementary agreement concerning its headquarters building in Kingston. He noted that these talks had been delayed while the Government was in the process of transferring the title of the building from the Urban Development Corporation to a government ministry. Preliminary discussions had not commenced until May. The main point to be resolved, he added, was the amount the Authority would have to pay, taking account of rental rates in the Kingston market.
Regarding financial matters, he stated that savings recorded in expenditures during 2000 would lower the contributions required from members in 2001. Forty members had contributed so far for the year 2000, while only 59 had contributed in full for 1999. Thus, there was a considerable deficit so far, and he hoped members would bring their contributions up to date. Forty States were more than two years in arrears, which meant that they had lost their vote in the Authority's organs.
He went on to say that, sadly, 44 of the 133 members had never participated in the Authority's meetings, despite his efforts to encourage wider participation.
Turning to the substantive work of the Authority, Secretary-General Nandan said he believed the Council was making good progress in its meetings this week on its priority topic of draft regulations for prospecting and exploration for polymetallic nodules in the international seabed area. The initial 15-year contracts between the Authority and the seven pioneer investors could not be awarded until the regulations were approved by the Council, which he hoped would occur at the current session. Any delay in approval would put back the start of the contract period. Moreover, without contracts, the Authority could not obtain the level of information called for in the draft regulations.
The secretariat was building a database from the information on polymetallic nodules already supplied by the pioneer investors, and he hoped to obtain more from them and other sources before the data were discarded by those who had decided not to proceed with mining. A consultant had been engaged to gather and develop a uniform format for such data, which would eventually be made widely accessible through the Authority's Web site. Work was underway as well on an environmental database relating to the deep seabed.
Discussing the outcome of the workshop held in Kingston last week on seabed mineral resources other than polymetallic nodules, he observed that participants from all regions had made excellent presentations that would help in the Authority's task of developing regulations on the topic. The workshop had discussed the type of legal regime needed for such resources, which might differ from that being established for polymetallic nodules.
He announced that the Authority's Web site (www.isa.org.jm) -- "the window of the Authority to the rest of the world" -- had recorded an average of 4,000 hits a day during two weeks in April and June.
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He recalled that, under article 154 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which entered into force in 1994, the Assembly was to review every five years the practical operation of the seabed regime established by the Convention, with the first such review due this year. The first five years had been a formative period in which substantial progress had been made towards establishing regulations, but there had not yet been experience in seeing how the system worked. He therefore thought it premature to think about any adjustments to the regime at this time.
Comments by Delegations
Commenting on the report of the Secretary-General, Indonesia thought more attention should be given to methane hydrates. Information on such minerals should be included in the Authority's central data repository on seabed resources. In response, Secretary-General Nandan said the Authority would try to develop information about methane hydrates, although the Authority's work in this area might be slow because many such deposits occurred in areas under national jurisdiction.
In response to comments by the Secretary-General on the non-payment of assessed contributions on the part of some members, a number of representatives, including Cameroon, Chile, Nigeria and Senegal, gave the assurance that their Governments would make payments before the end of the session or soon thereafter.
With regard to the five-year periodic review mandated by the Law of the Sea Convention, the Republic of Korea agreed with the Secretary-General's assessment that it was too early to consider changes in the seabed regime. More time was needed in order to evaluate the way the regime had operated in practice. This view drew support from China and India.
The observer from the United States raised two points. The first referred to a statement in the report which projected that, by the end of 2001, the Authority would have completed the "inputting of all acquired data and information on polymetallic nodules from sources within the United States". She reminded the Assembly that ratification of the Convention was still pending before the United States Senate.
She also sought clarification about a recent document of the International Ocean Institute (IOI) which made repeated mention of the Authority and which outlined draft rules and regulations for the laying and maintenance of cables and pipelines in the international seabed area. That document had confused companies that had been strong advocates of the Convention, and had prompted a reaction from her country's Cable and Telecommunications Industry Association, which saw "this development affecting support from telecommunications companies for the ratification of the Convention". She urged the Authority to take steps to prevent a recurrence of such a situation.
The Secretary-General replied that the reference to the United States in his report was not meant to imply that the Authority would use only information from that country in gathering information on polymetallic nodules. He also
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stated that the Authority had nothing to do with the IOI document, and it was unfortunate that the name of the Authority had been used. He would write to the Institute asking it not to implicate the Authority in projects in which it was not involved.
Finance Committee Members
At the start of this morning's meeting, the Assembly, in an uncontested election, chose replacements for three members of the Finance Committee who have resigned. The new members are Peter Doellekes, in charge of international financial relations in the Ministry of Finance of Germany; Albert Hoffmann, Legal Adviser to the Permanent Mission of South Africa to the United Nations, and Mrs. Juliet Semambo Kalema, Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of Uganda to the United Nations (biographical notes in document ISBA/6/A/10-12). They replace their compatriots Jobst Holborn (Germany), Craig Daniell (South Africa) and David Etuket (Uganda). The term of all 15 members of the Committee, who serve in their personal capacity, runs through 2001.
The Finance Committee, in closed meetings starting tomorrow, 6 July, will examine the proposed budget of the Authority for 2001-02 and the scale of assessment for member States' contributions.
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