SEABED ASSEMBLY ELECTS VICE-PRESIDENTS, APPOINTS CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE

SEABED ASSEMBLY ELECTS VICE-PRESIDENTS,

APPOINTS CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE

(Received from the International Seabed Authority.)

KINGSTON, 5 July -- The Assembly of the International Seabed Authority, meeting here this morning, completed its roster of officers by electing Argentina, Australia, Nigeria and Slovakia as its four vice-presidents.  The elections were by acclamation.

Argentina was nominated by Trinidad and Tobago on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, Australia by Finland for the Western European and Others Group, Nigeria by itself for the African Group and Slovakia by the Czech Republic for the Eastern European Group.

The Assembly also appointed its Credentials Committee, consisting of Brazil, Greece, Jamaica, Japan, Myanmar, Norway, Senegal, Slovakia and South Africa.

The remaining items on the Assembly’s agenda will be taken up next week, the final week of the Authority’s 2001 session.  They are elections to the Finance Committee, the annual report of the Secretary-General, approval of Staff Regulations, appointment of an auditor, and a request for observer status from the Interoceanmetal Joint Organization.

At the suggestion of the President, Peter Dickson Donigi (Papua New Guinea), the Assembly agreed to fix 4 p.m. tomorrow, 6 July, as the deadline for submitting nominations to the Finance Committee.  Fourteen nominations have been received so far for the 15-member body.

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