General Assembly Distr.: General 31 August 2012
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United Nations A/67/79/Add.1 General Assembly Distr.: General 31 August 2012 Original: English Sixty-seventh session Item 76 (a) of the provisional agenda* Oceans and the law of the sea Oceans and the law of the sea Report of the Secretary-General** Addendum Summary The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 249 of General Assembly resolution 66/231, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to prepare a report on developments and issues relating to ocean affairs and the law of the sea, including the implementation of resolution 66/231, for consideration at its sixty- seventh session. It is also being submitted to States parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, pursuant to article 319 of the Convention. Intergovernmental organizations, the specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations engaged in activities relating to ocean affairs and the law of the sea and funding institutions contributed to this report. * A/67/150. ** Owing to the page limit, this report contains a summary of the most important recent developments and selected information from contributions by relevant agencies, programmes and bodies. 12-47841 (E) 171012 *1247841* A/67/79/Add.1 Contents Page I. Introduction ................................................................... 3 II. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its implementing agreements .... 3 III. Bodies established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea .............. 4 IV. Maritime space ................................................................ 5 V. Developments relating to international shipping ..................................... 6 VI. People at sea .................................................................. 7 VII. Maritime security .............................................................. 9 VIII. Marine science and technology ................................................... 10 IX. Conservation and management of marine living resources ............................. 13 X. Marine biological diversity....................................................... 16 XI. Protection and preservation of the marine environment and sustainable development ....... 18 XII. Major trends in regional cooperation............................................... 27 XIII. Small island developing States.................................................... 29 XIV. Climate change and oceans....................................................... 29 XV. Settlement of disputes ........................................................... 30 XVI. International cooperation and coordination.......................................... 31 XVII. Capacity-building activities of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea ...... 33 XVIII. Conclusions ................................................................... 35 2 12-47841 A/67/79/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. The present report provides an overview of developments in ocean affairs and the law of the sea. Its purpose is to assist the General Assembly in its annual review of the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (the Convention)1 and other developments related to ocean affairs and the law of the sea. This report should be read in conjunction with (a) the report of the Secretary-General on oceans and the law of the sea (A/67/79 and Corr.1), which addressed the topic of focus at the thirteenth meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea; (b) the report on the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Whole on the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects (A/67/87); (c) the report on the work of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea at its thirteenth meeting (A/67/120); (d) the letter dated 8 June 2012 from the Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction addressed to the President of the General Assembly (A/67/95); and (e) the report of the twenty-second Meeting of States Parties to the Convention (SPLOS/251). The present report covers the period between 1 September 2011 and 31 August 2012. II. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its implementing agreements A. Status of the Convention and its implementing agreements 2. Since my previous report, the status of the Convention, of the Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the Convention (the Part XI Agreement) and of the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the Convention relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement) remained unchanged. As at 31 August 2012, there were 162 parties to the Convention, including the European Union; 141 parties to the Part XI Agreement; and 78 parties to the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement. 3. Thirty years ago, on 10 December 1982, the Convention was opened for signature in Montego Bay, Jamaica. On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of this significant instrument, in a letter dated 26 January 2012, I addressed an invitation to all Member States which are not yet parties to the Convention to consider becoming parties. Throughout the year, I also organized, in cooperation with States, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other relevant bodies, a series of activities to mark this occasion.2 __________________ 1 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1833, No. 31363. 2 See http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_30years.htm and http://www.un.org/Depts/los/reference_files/yeosu.htm. 12-47841 3 A/67/79/Add.1 B. Meeting of States Parties to the Convention 4. The twenty-second Meeting of States Parties to the Convention was held in New York from 4 to 11 June 2012. The States parties approved the budget of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (the Tribunal) in the amount of 21.24 million euros and adopted a declaration on the thirtieth anniversary of the opening for signature of the Convention. At the Meeting, 20 new members of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (the Commission) were elected for a term of five years. At the request of the Group of Eastern European States, the election of one member of the Commission was postponed in order to allow for additional nominations from that Group.3 The period for nominations was established from 15 July to 16 October 2012. III. Bodies established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea A. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and its workload 5. The Commission held its twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth and thirtieth sessions from 1 August to 9 September 2011, 19 March to 27 April 2012 and 30 July to 24 August 2012, respectively.4 6. To date, the Commission has adopted 18 sets of recommendations. Three States, Ireland, Mexico and the Philippines, have established the outer limits of their continental shelf on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission. B. International Seabed Authority 7. The Assembly of the International Seabed Authority held its eighteenth session in Kingston from 16 to 27 July 2012. The Assembly elected Nii Odunton as Secretary-General for a second four-year term. It also adopted the draft regulations on prospecting and exploration for cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in the Area (ISBA/18/C/WP.1). The Council of the Authority approved a workplan elaborating regulations for exploitation of polymetallic nodules in the Area by 2016. 8. A special session was held on 24 July to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the opening for signature of the Convention. C. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea 9. Information on major developments in the work of the Tribunal is contained in its annual report for 2011 (SPLOS/241). See also section XV of the present report. __________________ 3 See SPLOS/251, para. 85. 4 See CLCS/72, CLCS/74 and CLCS/76. 4 12-47841 A/67/79/Add.1 IV. Maritime space 10. The sustainable management of oceans and their resources is a critical underpinning of sustainable development. Clearly defined and publicized limits of maritime zones under national jurisdiction are an essential basis for such management, as they provide certainty with regard to the extent of the sovereignty or sovereign rights and jurisdiction of coastal States. 11. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of actions relating to the delineation and delimitation of maritime zones. During the reporting period, I received a number of communications from States depositing charts and geographical coordinates of points pursuant to the Convention (articles 16 (2), 47 (9), 75 (2) and 84 (2)), or reacting to such deposits.5 Laws and regulations regarding innocent passage through the territorial sea or the suspension of such passage were also received, pursuant to the obligations established in articles 21 (3) and 42 (3) of the Convention.6 These communications provide evidence of the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Convention, as well as of a continuous trend towards the assertion of national jurisdiction and sovereignty over ocean space. 12. The economic promises offered by the exploitation of seabed resources