ASSEMBLY ADOPTS SEABED AUTHORITY BUDGET FOR 2002-03; ELECTS MEMBERS TO COUNCIL, ADOPTS EMBLEM AND FLAG

ASSEMBLY ADOPTS SEABED AUTHORITY BUDGET FOR 2002-03;

ELECTS MEMBERS TO COUNCIL, ADOPTS EMBLEM AND FLAG

Completes Discussion of Secretary-General’s Report

(Reissued as received.)

KINGSTON, 14 August (International Seabed Authority) -- A $10,509,700 budget to finance the work of the International Seabed Authority in 2003-04 was adopted this morning by the Assembly of the Authority, meeting in Kingston.  The Authority also elected 18 States to the Council of the Authority for a four-year term beginning next year, and approved official designs for the emblem and flag of the Authority.  All these actions were taken without objection.

Before taking these decisions, the Assembly heard 20 speakers as it completed discussion of the annual report of Secretary-General Satya N. Nandan on the work of the Authority.

The decision on budgetary matters includes a compromise formula approved yesterday, 13 August, by the Council of the Authority, covering a scale of assessments payable by member States and means to finance the participation of members from developing countries in the two subsidiary bodies of the Authority.

In another action this morning, the Council appointed Brazil, Jamaica, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Poland, Senegal, South Africa and Sweden to its nine-member Credentials Committee.

Having completed its substantive work for this year, the Assembly is scheduled to meet again on Friday, 16 August, to conclude the eighth session of the Authority.

Budget and Scale of Assessments

The budget approved today (ISBA/8/A/6-ISBA/8/C/2), providing for expenditures of $5,221,900 in 2003and $5,287,800 in 2004, will pay for a secretariat at the current level of 37 posts.  Staff costs of $7,532,600 will continue to be the main component of expenditures, with lesser amounts for conference servicing ($1,115,100) and for goods and services such as furniture and communications ($1,012,000).

In proposing the budget, the Secretary-General noted that it was less than 1 per cent above the approved level of $10,506,400 for 2001-02, adopted by the Assembly two years ago.

The Assembly approved the budget in the amount proposed by the Secretary-General and endorsed by the Finance Committee (ISBA/8/A/7-ISBA/8/C/3) and the Council (ISBA/A/C/5).

Regarding assessments, the Assembly authorized the Secretary-General of the Authority to establish a scale based (as usual) on the United Nations scale, with a maximum rate of 22 per cent and a minimum of 0.01 per cent.  As part of the compromise in the Council, the Assembly called for a review of the scale in 2004 when considering the 2005-06 budget.  (Japan, the largest contributor to the Authority’s budget, will be assessed at the ceiling rate.)

Concerning the other element in the negotiated compromise, the Assembly called for, “as an interim measure”, the creation of an extrabudgetary trust fund, to be financed on a voluntary basis by member States and others, to defray the travel and subsistence expenses of expert members from developing countries attending the annual meetings of the Finance Committee and the Legal and Technical Commission.  The Assembly also decided to review ways of financing such participation, including the possibility of using the Authority’s budget, and it asked the Finance Committee to consider the matter further next year. 

In other provisions of the financial decision taken today, the Assembly asked that surpluses of previous years be used to reduce assessments in the next budget period.  (These savings amount to $1,695,000, lowering assessments to $8,814,700.)   It also asked that the budget be adjusted to take account of any agreement reached between the Authority and the Government of Jamaica regarding expenses for the use of the Authority’s headquarters office space in Kingston.  Finally, it appealed to States in arrears to pay their contributions as soon as possible. 

Election to Council

In today’s election to the 36-member Council (draft decision in ISBA/8/A/L.2), the Assembly elected 17 members for a four-year term from 2003 through 2006.

Newly elected were Cote d’Ivoire, France, Honduras and Myanmar.  Re-elected were Australia, Cameroon, Chile, Egypt, Fiji, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia.  Myanmar will relinquish its seat during 2004.

Remaining on the Council for a term through 2004 are 18 States:  Argentina, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Gabon, Guyana, India, Japan, Malta, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Senegal, Spain, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.  Algeria, previously elected through 2004, will relinquish its seat in 2003 only, by prior arrangement.    

Five States will leave the Council at the end of 2002:  Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, South Africa and Tunisia.  Although South Africa’s term runs through 2004, it previously agreed to relinquish its seat in 2003 to Zambia and in 2004 to Gabon.

      The Council membership is drawn from five groups of States members of the Authority.  Four of these have special interests in aspects of seabed mining and the fifth is a group chosen to ensure equitable geographical balance in the Council as a whole.  Today’s election, based on lists drawn up by the respective groups, was uncontested.

The breakdown of Council membership by groups is as follows:

Group A (Four States from among the largest consumers or net importers of minerals to be derived from seabed mining):  Italy and the Russian Federation, elected today, will join Japan and the United Kingdom.  Repeating an understanding first reached at the last Council election in 2000, Italy will relinquish its seat to the United States if that country joins the Authority.

Group B (Four States from those with the largest investment in seabed mining):  France and Germany, elected today, will join China and India.

Group C (Four States that are major land-based net exporters of the minerals also found on the deep seabed):  Australia and Indonesia, re-elected today, will join Portugal and Zambia.  In 2004, Gabon will replace Zambia in this group; under an understanding within the African Group recorded today, Gabon is to be replaced in 2005 by the election of South Africa.

Group D (Six developing States representing special interests, including those with large populations, the land-locked or geographically disadvantaged, islands, major mineral importers or potential producers, and the least developed):  Egypt, Fiji and Jamaica, re-elected today, will join Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Sudan.

Group E (18 States for geographical balance as well as a balance between developed and developing States):  Cameroon, Chile, Cote d’Ivoire, Honduras, Myanmar, Nigeria, Republic of Korea and Saudi Arabia, elected today, will join Argentina, Czech Republic, Gabon (2003 only, after which it shifts to Group C and is replaced in 2004 by South Africa), Guyana, Malta, Namibia, Poland, Senegal, Spain, and Trinidad and Tobago.  Algeria is to relinquish its seat in 2003 and Myanmar in 2004, under an arrangement by which regional groups give up one seat each on a rotating basis for a year at a time. 

Emblem and Flag

The Assembly acted without discussion in approving official designs for the emblem and flag of the Authority, and recommended that member States act to protect the design and name of the Authority from unauthorized use for commercial or other purposes.  The designs consist of an oval within which stylized scales of justice surmount a pattern of waves representing the sea, bracketed between the twin olive branches used in the emblems of the United Nations and many related intergovernmental organizations.  The name “International Seabed Authority” encircles the central oval.  This configuration was adapted from designs originally used for the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.

The proposal adopted today, along with explanatory details and images of the designs, is contained in a report by the Secretary-General (ISBA/8/A/4).   It shows two similar designs – with and without colour -- and the flag, which incorporates the design in yellow on a dark blue background.

Report of the Secretary-General

      The Assembly completed today a discussion that began last Friday, 9 August, when Secretary-General Nandan introduced his annual report on the work of the Authority (ISBA/8/A/5 and Add.1).  Speakers commented on current activities and prospectives for future work.  Some delegates felt the Authority needed to strengthen its ability to gather information on the marine environment, while others voiced concern that it might be exceeding the mandate given it under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, limiting it to activities in the international seabed area.

Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand and Sweden underscored the importance of encouraging marine scientific research and the collection and dissemination of information relating to the seabed area.  Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Oman and Saudi Arabia endorsed the secretariat's focus on scientific research and commended its efforts at filling the knowledge gap on management of the marine environment.  On the other hand, the United States thought the report suggested a move by the Authority beyond its role of encouraging scientific research and protecting the marine environment relating to the seabed.  Nigeria and others said the workshops organized by the Authority were of tremendous benefit in improving members' understanding of issues related to the deep-sea environment.

The revised text moves Côte d'Ivoire from the fifth to the first line.

Delegates welcomed the reported progress in negotiations on a supplementary agreement between the Authority and the Government of Jamaica on arrangement for the Authority’s premises in Kingston.  Brazil, Japan and Mexico, while welcoming signs of progress, expressed concern at the length of the negotiations, extending more than three years.  Australia, Indonesia New Zealand and the United States called on both sides to renew efforts at reaching a settlement, while Oman urged Jamaica to remove all obstacles that could lead to a speedy agreement on the remaining issues.  In his report, the Secretary-General said that only a few issues concerning the maintenance costs of the premises remained unsettled. 

In light of the focus on reporting and monitoring in the new phase of the Authority's work, many members saw the need for the Legal and Technical Commission to meet more often or for longer sessions in order to fulfil this aspect of its mandate.  Some delegations, among them Australia, Mexico New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Sweden, supported a suggestion by Brazil that the Legal and Technical Commission and the Finance Committee should meet during the first week of the Authority's annual sessions in advance of Council and Assembly meetings during the second week.

A suggestion made in the Secretary General's report that the Assembly consider meeting only once every two years enjoyed little support. Chile and Jamaica maintained that it would be unwise to separate the meetings in such a way, as the Authority's work was a joint effort involving all its organs and the work of subsidiary bodies such as the Commission was ultimately subject to decisions made in the Council and Assembly.

Malta suggested that the secretariat was in the best position to devise the most suitable format for each session, taking into account the tasks before the Authority at any given time. Secretary-General Nandan supported the suggestion for

flexibility in organizing the meetings, taking into account the Authority’s programme of work.

The United States said its administration supported adherence to the Convention and intended to work with the Senate to move forward on becoming a party. 

The United States suggested that a report on developments in the metals market, with input from scientists, economists, investors, bankers and other experts would benefit the work of the Authority.  The Secretary-General confirmed that the secretariat had recently begun such a study, which he hoped to make available at next year’s session.

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