| Date | 24 October 1996 |
|---|
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Agenda item 160
Observer status for the International Seabed Authority in the General Assembly
Draft resolution (A/51/L.2)
The Acting President
I call on the representative of Jamaica to introduce draft resolution A/51/L.2.
Ms. Durrant (Jamaica)
I have the honour to introduce for the consideration of the General Assembly the draft resolution contained in document A/51/L.2, under the agenda item entitled "Observer status for the International Seabed Authority in the General Assembly". The draft resolution, which is sponsored by 55 countries, reflects the decision adopted unanimously by the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority on 26 August 1996.
It will be recalled that the General Assembly, in its decision 49/426 of 9 December 1994, decided that the granting of observer status at the General Assembly should be confined to States and to those intergovernmental organizations whose activities cover matters of interest to the Assembly.
The International Seabed Authority is an autonomous intergovernmental organization established under article 156 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and therefore the granting of observer status to the Authority would be consistent with this decision of the General Assembly.
The International Seabed Authority has been vested with a task of vital importance to us all. The Authority has legal personality. The seat of the Authority is in Jamaica. Under article 157 of the Convention and paragraph 1 of Section 1 of the Annex to the Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Authority is the organization through which States Parties, in accordance with the regime for the international seabed Area established in Part XI of the Convention and the implementing Agreement, organize and control activities in the Area, particularly with a view to administering the resources of the Area. The powers and functions of the Authority are those expressly conferred upon it by the Convention.
The Authority has three principal organs, the Assembly, the Council and the Secretariat. The Authority is based on the sovereign equality of all its members. All States Parties to the Convention are, ipso facto, members of the Authority. The Convention, together with the implementing Agreement, is a universal instrument.
Following the adoption of the implementing Agreement on 28 July 1994 and the entry into force of the Convention on 16 November 1994, the first meeting of the International Seabed Authority took place at its headquarters in Jamaica from 16 to 18 November 1994. In accordance with its provisions, the implementing Agreement entered into force on 28 July 1996.
The Convention on the Law of the Sea is one of the most widely subscribed international instruments with some 106 States Parties. The institutional framework of the International Seabed Authority is now in place, with the election of a Secretary-General in March and a Council and President in August 1996.
All the States Parties to this Convention and those enjoying provisional membership in accordance with the Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the Convention are convinced of the vital importance of its work and of a coherent approach to all matters relating to the law of the sea and ocean affairs. It is in this context, and in recognition of the ongoing interest of the General Assembly in this subject area, that we make this request for the granting of observer status to the International Seabed Authority in the General Assembly.
I am sure that the importance of this status being granted to the Authority, which will enable it to take part in the relevant deliberations of the United Nations General Assembly, is readily recognized by all. The Authority's presence in the General Assembly can only serve to enrich the dialogue and the understanding of matters concerning the law of the sea and ocean affairs that come before this Assembly.
On behalf of the sponsors, I wish to request the General Assembly to adopt by consensus the draft resolution contained in document A/51/L.2, entitled "Observer status for the International Seabed Authority in the General Assembly".
The Acting President
We have heard the last speaker in the debate on this item.
The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/51/L.2.
May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/51/L.2?
The Acting President
In accordance with the resolution just adopted, I now call on the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, Mr. Satya Nandan.
Mr. Nandan (International Seabed Authority)
On behalf of the members of the International Seabed Authority and as the Secretary-General of the Authority, I would like to thank the General Assembly for inviting the Authority to participate in its deliberations in the capacity of Observer.
I would also like to thank the States that proposed the inscription of item 160, on Observer status for the International Seabed Authority in the General Assembly, on the agenda and also those States that sponsored the draft resolution contained in document A/51/L.2, which has just been adopted by the Assembly.
The General Assembly has, over many years, reviewed the developments relating to the law of the sea. In recent times, since the entry into force of the Convention in November 1994, it has reaffirmed the importance of the annual consideration and review of the overall developments pertaining to the implementation of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as other developments relating to the law of the sea and ocean affairs. The law of the sea, as reflected in the provisions of the Convention, has many components and the competencies for the implementation of its various aspects are dispersed among a number of international organizations and bodies, including the three new autonomous institutions established under the Convention: the International Seabed Authority, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. While these institutions, organizations and bodies have specific mandates, they cannot act in isolation from each other or from the deliberations of the General Assembly on the global developments relating to the law of the sea. Indeed, the Convention on the Law of the Sea is premised on the principle that:
"the problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need to be considered as a whole" (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, third preambular paragraph).
Similarly, the General Assembly would be lacking if its deliberations on developments relating to the law of the sea, or its review of the implementation of the Convention were to take place without the contribution or participation of the various competent international bodies.
This would certainly be true in the case of the International Seabed Authority, which has the unique responsibility to organize and control activities in the international seabed Area, in accordance with the Convention and the Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the Convention of 28 July 1994.
The international seabed Area consists of some 50 per cent of the earth's surface and forms the largest portion of the global commons. The Authority has the particular responsibility to administer the resources of the deep seabed Area and to ensure that the development of these resources is to the benefit of humankind as a whole. It has the responsibility, inter alia, of monitoring the environmental aspects of the activities in the deep seabed and of promoting the development of marine technology and marine scientific research in the international Area.
The International Seabed Authority thus has an interest in the deliberations of the Assembly on matters related to the marine environment, marine technology, marine scientific research, issues related to natural resources and legal and political issues insofar as these matters have implications for the international ocean Area. It is with these considerations in mind that the members of the Authority considered that it would be of mutual benefit for the Authority to seek the status of Observer at the United Nations.
Once again, on behalf of the International Seabed Authority, I acknowledge with gratitude the granting of observer status to the Authority and look forward to very fruitful cooperation between the two institutions.
The Acting President
May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 160?
