Meeting of States Parties

to Law of Sea Convention

125^th & 126^th Meetings (AM & PM)

LAW OF SEA CONVENTION STATES PARTIES, OPENING SESSION, ADOPT AGENDA, DEFER DECISION

ON INCLUDING ITEM ON LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF EXTENDED CONTINENTAL SHELF

The States parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea opened their nineteenth meeting todaywith a call for universal accession to that treaty, adoption of a provisional agenda and election of its Bureau.

The States parties decided to defer to a future meeting consideration of a proposal -- which drew mixed reviews by delegates -- to include a supplementary item on their agenda entitled “International Seabed Area as the common heritage of mankind and article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”. 

Following his election by acclamation as President, Somduth Soborun ( Mauritius) said the number of States parties to the Convention, including the European Union, had reached 158.  The international community and individual States, he said, would benefit from a strong and universally acceptable legal regime applicable to oceans, which was essential for international peace and security, sustainable use of ocean resources and protection of the marine environment.

The meeting, which is scheduled to run through Friday, 26 June, would focus, among other things, on the workload facing the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf as it continued to examine submissions by coastal States for the delineation of the continental shelf.  (For summaries of key documents before the meeting, see Press Release SEA/1915).

Often known as the “constitution of the oceans”, the landmark Convention was adopted on 10 December 1982 and entered into force on 16 November 1994.  Its 320 articles and nine annexes govern all aspects of ocean space and maritime issues, from navigational rights, maritime limits and marine scientific research to the management of resources, protection of the marine environment and settlement of disputes.

Patricia O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, said the number of States parties to the Convention continued to grow steadily.  Since the eighteenth meeting of States parties, Congo, Liberia and Switzerland had deposited instruments of ratification -- proof of the progress towards universal ratification of the Convention and strengthened rule of law in ocean governance.  During the first-ever World Oceans Day, commemorated earlier this month on 8 June, the United Nations organized several events, among them a panel discussion on the theme “Our oceans, our responsibility” and a briefing on the law of sea organized by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).  The tenth meeting of the Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, held last week, played an important role in strengthening and promoting the regime established by the Convention. 

She said that since the eighteenth meeting of States parties, the Secretary-General had received 39 new submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and 43 sets of preliminary information from States regarding relevant decisions of that meeting.  The Secretariat, in providing assistance to the Commission, was faced with important logistical challenges concerning processing those submissions, the overall management of the Commission’s time scheduling, software and hardware support, and storage and safe custody of the large volume of documentation submitted by States. 

During today’s Meeting, States Parties were divided over whether to include a proposal by China, Côte d'Ivoireand Pakistan (document SPLOS/L.60) to include the item entitled “International Seabed Area as the common heritage of mankind and article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” on their agenda.  Some participants favoured its inclusion, saying it was an important substantive issue concerning interpretation of the Convention.  But others said it had no place in the meeting, which was mandated to focus exclusively on administrative and budgetary matters, and that it should be addressed bilaterally by the States parties concerned.  In light of those divergent opinions, the Meeting decided to defer the question’s consideration to a later date.

In an explanatory note on the matter (document SPLOS/196), China stated that the meeting should be used as an opportunity to consider the issue of claiming extended continental shelf with a rock as base point and its legal implication under article 121 of the Convention, and to discuss how to strengthen the protection of the Area as the common heritage of mankind.  In that regard, appropriate guidelines were needed for the work of international bodies established under the Convention.  As the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil beyond the continental shelf of coastal States were the International Seabed Area and represented the common heritage of mankind, determining the outer limits of the extended continental shelf would at the same time clarify the scope of the Area, which was of great importance to the overall interests of the international community in the Area. 

By 13 May 2009, China’s proposal notes, the Commission had received 50 submissions and 39 preliminary sets of information from relevant coastal States on the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.  Most States had abided by the Convention’s provisions, and had made serious efforts to safeguard the international community’s overall interests when claiming their rights.  However, “there is also some case” in which the Convention was not abided by; for example, claims on the continental shelf within and beyond 200 nautical miles with an isolated rock in the ocean as base point.  Recognition of such claims would set a precedent that might lead to encroachment upon the high seas and the Area on a larger scale.  Therefore, according to the note, the international community should express serious concern on the issue.

Introducing the proposal, China’s representative said the Meeting should send a clear message of the possible impact of article 121, and he called on States Parties to support the proposal. 

Also during the meeting, Yuriy Sergeyev (Ukraine), President of the eighteenth meeting of the States parties, briefed participants about informal consultations since July 2008 among the African Group, Asian Group, and Western European and other States Groups on the agenda item titled “allocation of seats on the Commission and the Tribunal”, which aimed to reach a compromise. 

In that regard, Norway’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Western European and other States Group, then introduced a proposal (document SPLOS/L.61) on arrangement for allocation of seats on both 21-member bodies in which one seat on each body would be filled by a member elected from among the African Group, Asian Group and Western European and other States Groups. 

It was agreed that further consultations would be held on that issue following a request by the representative of the Philippines on behalf of the Group of Asian States and South Africa on behalf of the Group of African States.

The meeting also elected the following Vice-Presidents:  Bae Byeong-Soo ( Republic of Korea); Emilena Popova ( Bulgaria); Eden Charles ( Trinidad and Tobago); and Scott Sheeran ( New Zealand).

It appointed the following States parties to its Credentials Committee: Angola, Brazil, Finland, Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland and Argentina.  

Representatives of South Africa (on behalf of the Group of African States), Myanmar, Belarus, Japan, Cuba, Palau (also speaking on behalf of Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu), Republic of Korea, Australia, Pakistan, Norway, Iceland, Sweden (on behalf of the European Union), Indonesia, France, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Namibia, Germany, Fiji, Uruguay, Mexico, United States, Philippines (on behalf of the Group of Asian States), Guatemala and Egypt also spoke today.

The States parties will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 23 June, to continue their nineteenth meeting.

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For information media • not an official record