Commission on Limits of Continental Shelf to Meet at Headquarters, 1 February to 18 March

NEW YORK, 29 February (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will hold its fortieth session from 1 February to 18 March.

The two plenary parts of the session will be held from 8 to 12 February and from 7 to 11 March, while the remainder of the time will be devoted to the technical examination of submissions at the Geographic Information Systems laboratories and other technical facilities of the Division.

Among the coastal States that have been invited to make a presentation of their submissions to the Commission’s plenary are the Russian Federation (in respect of the Arctic Ocean); Somalia have already accepted this invitation.  A number of other coastal States indicated a preference to present their submissions at a subsequent session of the Commission on the understanding that such deferrals would not affect the position of the submissions in the queue.

At the plenary level, the Commission will resume its consideration of the draft recommendations related to submissions made by Iceland, in respect of the Ægir Basin area and the western and southern parts of Reykjanes Ridge; the Cook Islands, in respect of the Manihiki Plateau; and Argentina.  The Commission will also commence its consideration of the draft recommendations in respect of the submission made by Uruguay, after hearing presentations from the subcommission established for the consideration of that submission.

There are currently eight subcommissions actively considering the submissions made by Brazil in respect of the Brazilian Southern Region (partial revised submission); Norway, in respect of Bouvetøya and Dronning Maud Land; South Africa, in respect of the mainland of the territory of South Africa; the Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, jointly, concerning the Ontong Java Plateau; France and South Africa, jointly, in the area of the Crozet Archipelago and the Prince Edward Islands; Kenya; Mauritius, in the region of Rodrigues Island; and Nigeria.

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

For additional information on the work of the Commission see the Division’s website at www.un.org/depts/los/index.htm.