Highlights for Thursday, 28 February 2019
The Council during Thursday’s proceedings
On Thursday, the Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) focused on issues related to the Enterprise, an organ foreseen in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as ISA’s own mining arm. Delegates discussed the operationalization of the Enterprise, a joint venture proposal with the Government of Poland, and a draft decision on the terms of reference for the Special Representative for the Enterprise.Highlights of the day include:
exchange of ideas on operationalizing the Enterprise, which many delegates see as an important manifestation of the common heritage principle;
an initial discussion on a draft proposal for a joint venture between the ISA and Poland, with a view to have on the agenda a full proposal for consideration at the next Council session, in July 2019;
deliberations on developing a set of rules and regulations that will govern future joint ventures;
insights from Eden Charles (Trinidad and Tobago), Special Representative for the Enterprise; and
extensive negotiations on the terms of reference for the renewal of the term of the Special Representative.
For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from the 1st Part of ISA-25. In addition, IISD Reporting Services, has published a summary and analysis report of the meeting, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera
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Michael Lodge, ISA Secretary-General, and Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, ISA Legal Counsel and Deputy to the Secretary-General, consult during plenary
Eden Charles, Trinidad and Tobago, Special Representative for the Enterprise
Carlos Alberto Michaelsen den Hartog, Brazil, on behalf of GRULAC
Tomasz Grysa, Holy See
Victoria García Ojeda, Spain
Mariusz Orion Jędrysek, Poland
Tommo Monthe, Cameroon
Lumka Yengeni, South Africa, Council President for the 25th Session
Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group
Guy Sevrin and Patrik Schotte, Belgium
Tevita Suka Mangisi, Tonga
Didier Ortolland, France
Russell Howorth and Malakai Finau, Fiji
Graham Leung, Nauru
Duncan Currie, Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC)
Discussions among German delegates
Major Tano Koffi Bertin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Tommo Monthe, Cameroon
Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, ISA Legal Counsel and Deputy to the Secretary-General, confers with Michelle Walker, Jamaica
Lowri Mai Griffiths, UK; Rena Lee, Singapore; and Kenneth Wong, Canada
L-R: Gwénaëlle Le Gurun, ISA Secretariat; Thembile Joyini, South Africa; Michael Lodge, ISA Secretary-General; and Eden Charles, Trinidad and Tobago, Special Representative for the Enterprise
Delegates discuss the draft decision on the Special Representative for the Enterprise
Tomasz Grysa, Holy See, and Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, ISA Legal Counsel and Deputy to the Secretary-General
Esther Salamanca Aguado and Victoria García Ojeda, Spain, and Aline Jaeckel, Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI)
Delegates during an informal meeting
Laurens J. de Jonge, Wini Broadbelt, and Tom Diederen, the Netherlands
Maruthadu Sudhakar and G. Ananda Ramadass, India
Tevita Suka Mangisi, Rose Lesley Kautoke, Yumi Nafe, and Siosiua ‘Utoikamanu, Tonga
ISA Secretariat staff celebrates the International Women’s Day
Around the Venue
A view from the venue as the sun goes down
The ENB team at the 1st Part of ISA-25 (L-R) Asterios Tsioumanis, Greece; Nancy Williams, US; Priscila Pereira de Andrade, Brazil; Teya Penniman, US; Diego Noguera, Colombia; and Nicole de Paula, Brazil
