Commission on Limits of Continental Shelf to Hold Forty-second Session at Headquarters, 17 October to 2 December

NEW YORK, 14 October (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will hold its forty-second session from 17 October to 2 December.

There will be no plenary part during the forty-second session.  The entirety of the seven weeks will be devoted to the technical examination of submissions at the geographic information systems laboratories and other technical facilities of the Division.

There are currently nine subcommissions actively considering submissions made by:  the Russian Federation, in respect of the Arctic Ocean (partial revised submission); Brazil, in respect of the Brazilian Southern Region (partial revised submission); France and South Africa jointly in respect of the area of the Crozet Archipelago and the Prince Edward Islands; Kenya; Nigeria; Seychelles, in respect of the Northern Plateau Region; France, in respect of La Réunion Island and Saint-Paul and Amsterdam Islands; Côte d'Ivoire; and Sri Lanka.

As required under the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, 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 and to States parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  The executive summaries are available on the Division’s website at: www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/clcs_home.htm.  The summaries of recommendations adopted by the Commission are also available on the above-referenced website.

The Commission is a body of 21 experts in the field of geology, geophysics or hydrography, which was established pursuant to article 2, annex II of the Convention.  They are elected for a term of five years by the Meeting of States Parties to the Convention from among their nationals having due regard to the need to ensure equitable geographical representation.  They serve in their personal capacities.

The Commission makes recommendations to coastal States on matters related to the establishment of the outer limits of their continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, based on information submitted to it by coastal States.  These recommendations are based on the scientific and technical data and other material provided by States in relation to the implementation of article 76 of the Convention.  The recommendations do not prejudice matters relating to the delimitation of boundaries between States with opposite or adjacent coasts, or prejudice the position of States that are parties to a land or maritime dispute, or application of other parts of the Convention or any other treaties.  The limits of the continental shelf established by a coastal State on the basis of these recommendations shall be final and binding.

For additional information on the work of the Commission, please visit the website of the Division at www.un.org/depts/los/index.htm.