Background Release

Commission on Limits of Continental Shelf, Meeting at Headquarters

 

7 March to 21 April, Will Hold Plenary 28 March to 8 April

 

The General Assembly, in its resolution 65/37 of 7 December 2010, approved the convening by the Secretary-General of the twenty-seventh session of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, in New York from 7 March to 21 April 2011.  The periods from 7 to 25 March and from 11 to 21 April are allocated for the technical examination of submissions at the Geographic Information System laboratories and other technical facilities of the Division.  The plenary part of the twenty-seventh session will be held from 28 March to 8 April.

At the upcoming plenary session, the Commission will continue the examination of data and other materials submitted by the following coastal States parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea concerning the outer limits of their continental shelf in areas where those limits extend beyond 200 nautical miles:  France (in respect of the areas of the French Antilles and the Kerguelen Islands), Indonesia (in respect of the area of north-west of Sumatra Island), Japan, Mauritius and Seychelles (jointly in the region of the Mascarene Plateau), as well as Suriname.

The Commission will also receive formal presentations of the submissions made by Denmark in respect to Faroe-Rockall Plateau Region; Maldives; and Mozambique.  Upon the request of the respective submitting States, presentations on the remaining submissions that have been included on the provisional agenda for the session (notably, France in respect of La Réunion Island and Saint-Paul and Amsterdam Islands; Iceland in the Ægir Basin area and in the western and southern parts of Reykjanes Ridge; Pakistan;and Sri Lanka) have been deferred to a later session.

As required under the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, the executive summary of all new submissions, including all charts and coordinates, has been made public by the Secretary‑General through continental shelf notifications circulated to Member States of the United Nations, including the States parties to the Convention.  The executive summaries are available on the Division’s website at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/clcs_home.htm.

The summaries of all recommendations adopted by the Commission are also available on the above-referenced website.

For information on the history and purpose of the Commission, see Press Release SEA/1818.  For additional information on the background and mandate of the Commission, or any pertinent information, please visit the website of the Division at www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm.

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For information media • not an official record