General Assembly Session 63 meeting 63

Mrs. Cabello de Daboin (Venezuela)

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela wishes to speak on agenda item 70, "Oceans and the law of the sea", including its sub-items (a), "Oceans and the law of the sea", and (b), "Sustainable fisheries".

My delegation attaches special importance to the issue of oceans and the law of the sea, which is a matter of priority in our State policy owing to, inter alia, our geographic position. It is characterized by a long maritime border that is managed according to criteria and principles for the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources, set out in our national laws and in accordance with international law.

Accordingly, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela participated actively in the 2008 international agenda related to the oceans and the law of the sea, continuing with the work that had been done by the Ad Hoc Working Group studying the matter relating to the preservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond national jurisdiction. The Working Group met from 24 April to 2 May 2008. On this matter, among the conclusions in the summary of the co-Chairs two aspects draw the attention of my delegation.

The first relates to the existing inadequacies in implementation of the international legal framework governing management and preservation of the living resources of the sea beyond national jurisdiction. In the view of our delegation, this forum should take a decision that covers all of the conventions related to this issue, including the Convention on Biological Diversity. In this regard, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela cannot agree that management of these resources is determined by one exclusive legal regime. The second aspect relates to the need to carry out research for the purpose of acquiring greater scientific certainty to guide the international community towards the best decisions.

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea does not cover -- either in its text or in its supplementary agreements -- all the issues relating to the subject of the oceans and the seas that the international community has to face today. Accordingly, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela maintains that other international instruments also play key roles in dealing with marine biological diversity beyond national jurisdiction, for example, decision IX-20 of the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, a meeting that was held between 19 and 30 May 2008 in Bonn, Germany.

With respect to the Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on the Oceans and the Law of the Sea, my delegation wishes to highlight the need for this Assembly to review the mandate and methodology of the consultations so as to adapt them to the original purpose for which that body was established by the Commission on Sustainable Development, as expressed in resolution 54/33 of 24 November 1999. We believe that the Consultative Process should continue, for it is the only universal forum where States can resolve the compatibility issues between sustainable development and the oceans and seas.

In this regard, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is concerned by the general trend in the Consultative Process this year to include issues that go beyond its mandate, such as international crime, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons and terrorism, while leaving aside the consideration of matters relating to the sustainable development of the oceans.

Regarding the draft resolution entitled "Sustainable fisheries, including through the 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, and related instruments" (A/63/L.43), the delegation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela would like to emphasize that this matter is a priority for our country. We have undertaken major initiatives to promote and implement programmes to ensure the preservation, protection and orderly management of living resources of the sea. For example, we have enacted the new fishing and aquaculture law of 14 May 2008, which prohibits drift-net fishing and declares that small-scale drift-net fishing should be gradually replaced by other methods of fishing in order to ensure sustainable development of the living resources of the sea and the environment.

The law also provides for broad participation by our people in fishing, considering several mechanisms for ensuring participation and oversight, such as the Socialist Institute of Fishing and Aquaculture, which, as a management body, has to submit to the public any proposals it has for technical rules for managing fishing, aquaculture and related activities before those proposals are submitted to the governing body.

Pursuant to the law on fishing and aquaculture, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has taken steps to harmonize the criteria applicable to fisheries and aquaculture with other countries in the region, particularly with respect to highly migratory fish stocks and living resources that are in the maritime areas under our jurisdiction or sovereignty as well as in adjacent areas.

At the international level, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has applied the principles of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and of chapter 18 of Agenda 21, adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. We have also participated actively in regional organizations dealing with fisheries, for example, the Food and Agriculture Organization's Committee on Fisheries and its subsidiary bodies, the West Central Atlantic Fishery Commission, the Latin American Organization for Fisheries Development, the Commission for Inland Fisheries of Latin America, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.

On the matter of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has taken the necessary steps to deal with the situation, ensuring ongoing reporting of the location and lawfulness of fishing vessels flying the Venezuelan flag on the high seas which they communicate to the regional fisheries organizations of which they are members. Our Venezuelan laws also provide for satellite positioning equipment on all fishing vessels larger than 10 tons of gross tonnage.

It is important to stress that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is not party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, including the 10 December 1982 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. Thus, the provisions in those international instruments do not apply to us under customary international law except insofar as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has explicitly recognized or may in the future recognize them by incorporating them into our national legislation, since the reasons that prevented us from adopting these instruments still exist.

Lastly, we would like to thank the coordinators of the various working groups and to say that we stand ready to cooperate fully with multilateral efforts to promote the sustainable development of seas and oceans. Accordingly, we call for the application of an international legal framework covering all regional agreements and global agreements regulating the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources.