States Parties to United Nations Convention on Law of Sea to Hold Thirty-Fifth Meeting at Headquarters, 23-27 June

NEW YORK, 20 June (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The thirty-fifth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will be convened at United Nations Headquarters from 23 to 27 June 2025.  In view of the measures being taken in the context of the ongoing liquidity crisis of the United Nations Secretariat, conference services for the afternoon meeting on Friday, 27 June, have been relinquished, and the 27 June Meeting will end by 1 p.m.

The thirty-fifth 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-fifth Meeting will also consider administrative and budgetary matters of the Tribunal, including the report on budgetary matters for the financial periods 2023 and 2024 and the report of the external auditor for the financial period 2024.  The meeting will further address the nomination of a member and an alternate member to the staff pension committee of the Tribunal.

Among the important items on the agenda of the Meeting is the election of members of the Commission.  The list of candidates has been made available in document SPLOS/35/8.  The curriculum vitae of the candidate nominated by a State Party is contained in document SPLOS/35/CRP.1.  The election procedures to be followed by the Meeting are set out in document SPLOS/35/7.

Following the resignation of one of the Co-Coordinators of the Open-Ended Working Group on the Conditions of Service of Members of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, Sidney Kemble (Netherlands), the Meeting will need to appoint another Co-Coordinator on behalf of developed States.

In addition, the Meeting will consider the reports of the Secretary-General on oceans and the law of the sea that were submitted to States Parties pursuant to article 319 of the Convention (see documents A/79/340 and A/80/70).

The provisional agenda of the thirty-fifth Meeting of States Parties is contained in document SPLOS/35/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:  https://www.un.org/Depts/los/meeting_states_parties/thirtyfifthmeetingstatesparties.htm.

The Convention was opened for signature on 10 December 1982.  It entered into force on 16 November 1994.  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.