Commission on Limits of Continental Shelf Concludes Its Sixty-First Session
NEW YORK, 23 August (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its sixty-first session at United Nations Headquarters, from 8 July to 23 August 2024. The plenary parts of the session were held from 5 to 9 and from 19 to 23 August. The remainder of the session was devoted to the technical examination of submissions at the premises of the Division, including geographic information systems laboratories and other technical facilities.
The Commission elected Harald Brekke (Norway) as Vice-Chairperson, following the adoption of revisions to its rules of procedure (see below), which increased the number of Vice-Chairpersons by providing that the Commission shall elect a Vice-Chairperson from each of the regional groups.
The Commission appointed the new member of the Commission, Artem Kireev (nominated by the Russian Federation) to subcommissions and other subsidiary bodies. Following the resignation from the Commission of Miloud Loukili (nominated by Morocco) and the establishment of a new subcommission (see below), the Commission also adjusted the membership of some existing subcommissions.
The following submissions were considered by the Commission and its subcommissions: Mauritius in respect of the region of Rodrigues Island (partial submission); Palau in respect of the North Area (partial amended submission); Portugal; Spain in respect of the area of Galicia (partial submission); Namibia; Cuba in respect of the eastern polygon in the Gulf of Mexico; Mozambique; and Madagascar; as well as revised submissions made by Brazil in respect of the Brazilian Equatorial Margin (partial revised submission); Cook Islands concerning the Manihiki Plateau (revised submission); Iceland in respect of the western, southern and south-eastern parts of the Reykjanes Ridge (partial revised submission); and the Russian Federation in the Area of the Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean (partial revised submission).
During its plenary meetings, the Commission heard presentations on the amended submission made by Cuba in respect of the eastern polygon in the Gulf of Mexico and on the partial revised submission made by the Russian Federation in the Area of the Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean.
Underscoring the importance that submitting States attach to the work of the Commission, delegations were represented at the high level: the delegation of Cuba was headed by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Carlos Fernández de Cossío Domínguez, and the delegation of the Russian Federation was headed by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Alexander Kozlov.
Taking into account the status of work in one of its established subcommissions, the Commission decided to establish a new subcommission to consider the submission made by Madagascar. Further, the Commission decided that the subcommission established to consider the submission of Brazil would commence consideration of the partial revised submission made by Brazil in respect of the Brazilian Oriental and Meridonial Margin at the session during which that subcommission would complete the examination of the partial revised submission made by Brazil in respect of the Brazilian Equatorial Margin.
The Commission also took note of a request for scientific and technical advice submitted by South Africa, as focal point for the joint partial submission made by France and South Africa in respect of the area of the Crozet Archipelago and the Prince Edward Islands. The Commission referred the request to the Scientific and Technical Advice Committee, and then transmitted a communication to the delegation.
During the session, the Commission was informed about deliberations of the thirty-fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention, held in June 2024, on matters concerning the Commission.
With a view to its programme of meetings in 2025, the Commission reconfirmed its decision that, starting in 2025, the pattern of meetings of the Commission would consist of three sessions of five weeks each, including plenary meetings, for a total of 15 weeks per year, with no two sessions being sequential, complemented by increased intersessional work. Four of those 15 weeks would be devoted to plenary meetings. On that basis, the Commission decided to convene its sixty‑third session from 17 February to 21 March 2025, with plenary parts to be held from 24 to 28 February and from 10 to 14 March, subject to approval of the General Assembly; its sixty‑fourth session from 7 July to 8 August 2025, with plenary parts to be held from 14 to 18 July and from 28 July to 1 August, subject to approval of the General Assembly; and its sixty-fifth session, from 20 October to 21 November 2025, without plenary meetings.
The Commission resumed its deliberations concerning the revision of its rules of procedure. After conducting a consolidated reading of the revisions, the Commission adopted the revised rules of procedure on 20 August 2024, with immediate effect. The revised rules will be issued in due course as CLCS/40/Rev.2.
Further to its decision at the sixtieth session to develop bulletins on matters of scientific and technical relevance which could assist States with regard to their submissions, during the plenary, the Commission held a workshop to exchange of views on seafloor highs.
With a view to the retrieval or safe disposal of hard copies of submissions that were no longer needed by the Commission, the secretariat reported that it had informed States that unless the intention of a submitting State to retrieve submission materials was conveyed by 30 November 2024, the secretariat would proceed with the safe disposal of additional copies of submission materials on the understanding that the submitting State concerned has no objection thereto.
Further details of the sixty-first session will be available in the Statement of the Chairperson of the Commission (document CLCS/61/2).
The background press release on this session is available at press.un.org/en/2024/sea2197.doc.htm.
Background
Established pursuant to article 2 of annex II to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 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 by those coastal States. The recommendations are based on the scientific data and other material provided by coastal States in relation to the implementation of article 76 of the Convention and 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 the recommendations are final and binding. In the case of disagreement by a coastal State with the recommendations of the Commission, the coastal State shall, within a reasonable time, make a revised or new submission to the Commission.
Under rule 23 of its rules of procedure (Public and private meetings), the meetings of the Commission, its subcommissions and subsidiary bodies are held in private, unless the Commission decides otherwise.
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, 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. 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 serving in their personal capacities. Members of the Commission are elected for a term of five years by the Meeting of States parties to the Convention having due regard to the need to ensure equitable geographical representation. Not fewer than three members shall be elected from each geographical region.
Currently, two seats on the Commission are vacant as a result of the resignation of Mr. Loukili and the long-standing vacancy resulting from a lack of nominations from the Group of Eastern European States. A call for nominations has been circulated to States parties with a view to filling these vacancies at a by‑election to be conducted at a resumed thirty‑fourth Meeting. The nomination period opened on 18 July and will close on 18 October 2024 at midnight (New York time).
The Convention provides that the State party which submitted the nomination of a member of the Commission shall defray the expenses of that member while in performance of Commission duties. A voluntary trust fund for the purpose of defraying the cost of participation of the members of the Commission from developing countries has been established. It has facilitated the participation of several members of the Commission from developing countries in the sessions of the Commission.
The convening by the Secretary-General of the sessions of the Commission, with full conference services, including documentation, for the plenary parts of these sessions, is subject to approval by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The Assembly does so in its annual resolutions on oceans and the law of the sea, which also address other matters relevant to the work of the Commission and the conditions of service of its members.
For additional information on the work of the Commission see the website of the Division at: www.un.org/depts/los/index.htm. In particular, the most recent Statements by the Chair on the progress in the work of the Commission are available at: www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/commission_documents.