States Parties to United Nations Convention on Law of Sea Will Hold Twenty-Ninth Meeting at Headquarters, 17-19 June

NEW YORK, 13 June (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The twenty-ninth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will be held at United Nations Headquarters from 17 to 19 June.

The Convention was opened for signature on 10 December 1982.  It entered into force on 16 November 1994 and thus, this year, the international community commemorates the twenty-fifth anniversary of that event.  The Convention, comprising 320 articles and 9 annexes is often referred to as the “constitution for the oceans”, as it sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out and is of strategic importance as the basis for national, regional and global action and cooperation in the marine sector.  Over the years, the Convention has made, together with its implementing agreements, a pre‑eminent contribution to the strengthening of peace, security, cooperation and friendly relations among all nations in conformity with the principles of justice and equal rights and to the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples of the world.  This contribution is in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, as well as to the sustainable development of the oceans and seas.

To mark the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to attend the Meeting of States Parties in the afternoon of 17 June to deliver his remarks.

The Meeting of States Parties will receive reports from the representatives of the three bodies established by the Convention, namely the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Seabed Authority and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on their annual activities.

In keeping with its traditional agenda, the Meeting of States Parties will also consider administrative and budgetary matters of the Tribunal and the nomination of a member and an alternate member to the staff pension committee of the Tribunal.  The Meeting will address the conditions of service of the members of the Commission and the filling of a vacancy in the Commission.  In addition, it will consider the reports of the Secretary-General under article 319 of the Convention for the information of States parties on issues of a general nature, relevant to States parties, which have arisen with respect to the Convention (see documents A/73/368 and A/74/70).

The provisional agenda of the twenty-ninth Meeting of States Parties is contained in document SPLOS/29/L.1.

For further information on the Meeting of States Parties, including its documents, please see the website of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs at www.un.org/Depts/los/meeting_states_parties/twentyninthmeetingstatesparties.htm.