Thirty-Second Meeting of States Parties to United Nations Convention On Law of Sea to Be Held from 13 to 17 June
NEW YORK, 1 June (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) ― The thirty-second Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will convene, in person, at United Nations Headquarters from 13 to 17 June 2022.
The thirty-second 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 (www.itlos.org), the International Seabed Authority (www.isa.org.jm) and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/clcs_home.htm) on their annual activities.
The thirty-second Meeting will also consider administrative and budgetary matters of the Tribunal, including draft budget proposals of the Tribunal for the financial period 2023–2024. It will further consider the nomination of a member and an alternate member of the Staff Pension Committee of the Tribunal. In addition, the Meeting will address the conditions of service of the members of the Commission.
Among the important items on the agenda of the Meeting is the election of twenty-one members of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The list of candidates has been made available in documents SPLOS/32/9 and SPLOS/32/9/Add.1. The statements of qualifications of the candidates and the complete curricula vitae of the candidates are contained in documents SPLOS/32/10 and SPLOS/32/CRP.1, respectively. The election procedures to be followed by the Meeting are set out in document SPLOS/32/8. It is recalled that pursuant to the decision adopted by the thirty-first Meeting of States Parties, the term of office of the current members of the Commission has been extended to 15 June 2023. Consequently, the term of office of the members of the Commission who will be elected by the forthcoming Meeting will commence on 16 June 2023.
In addition, the Meeting will consider the reports of the Secretary-General on oceans and the law of the sea that was submitted to States parties pursuant to article 319 of the Convention (see documents A/76/311, A/76/311/Add.1 and A/77/68).
The provisional agenda of the thirty-second Meeting of States Parties is contained in document SPLOS/32/L.1/Rev.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: http://www.un.org/Depts/los/meeting_states_parties/thirtysecondmeetingstatesparties.htm.
The Convention was opened for signature on 10 December 1982. It entered into force on 16 November 1994. This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the opening for signature of the Convention, which will be commemorated by the General Assembly on 8 and 9 December 2022. The Convention, comprising 320 articles and nine 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, from navigational rights, maritime limits and marine scientific research to resource management, marine environment protection and dispute settlement, 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.