Oceans and Law of the Sea

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the United Nations General Assembly on the fortieth anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in New York today:

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its fifty-sixth session at United Nations Headquarters, from 5 October to 22 November.

The United Nations Secretariat at the Joint Coordination Centre reports that the Ukrainian, Turkish and United Nations delegations agreed not to plan any movement of vessels in the Black Sea Grain Initiative for 2 November.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Michel Xavier Biang (Gabon):

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will hold its fifty-sixth session from 5 October to 22 November.  There will be no plenary part during the session and its seven weeks will be devoted entirely to the technical examination of submissions at the geographic information system laboratories and other technical facilities of the Division.

Today is International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction and this year’s theme is “Stop Food Loss and waste, for the people, for the planet”. Food loss and waste account for 8 to 10 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime biodiversity treaty suspended its fifth session today, after delegations, racing to agree on the final elements, paused their relentless negotiations to seek compromise.

The Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime biodiversity treaty continued its fifth session today, with the facilitators of informal discussions on various elements updating on progress made, and delegates focused on finding the solutions needed to successfully close the fifth session on 26 August.

NEW YORK, 22 August 2022 (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its fifty-fifth session at United Nations Headquarters from 5 July to 19 August 2022. The plenary parts of the session were held from 1 to 5 and from 8 to 12 August. The remainder of the session was devoted to the technical examination of submissions at the geographic information systems laboratories and other technical facilities of the Division. Thus, for the first time after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission met for seven weeks, including two weeks of plenary meetings, as originally scheduled, including in-person meetings with delegations.

The Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime biodiversity treaty continued its fifth session today, with the facilitators of informal discussions on various elements updating on progress made during the first week.