Summary
On Monday, 27 March, the third session of the Preparatory Committee established by the UN General Assembly in 2015 to make recommendations on the elements of a draft text of an international legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (PrepCom 3) convened in plenary in the morning, chaired by Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil. During the brief session, delegates heard from Stephen Mathias, Assistant Secretary-General, Office of Legal Affairs, on progress on marine issues relating to the work of the PrepCom.
Delegates then met in an informal working group on marine genetic resources (MGRs) including questions on the sharing of benefits, which met for the rest of the day, facilitated by Janine Coye-Felson, Belize. Considerations on MGRs will continue on Tuesday, 28 March.
Side events also took place over lunchtime on experiences of benefit-sharing regimes and their potential relevance to MGRs and capacity building in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), and options for using area-based planning tools in ABNJ.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has providing daily web coverage, daily reports and a summary and analysis report from the 3rd Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292 “Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.” Our summary and analysis report is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon
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View of the opening session chaired by Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil
Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel, on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres
Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil
Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Ali Nasimfar, Iran
Ismail Raushan Zahir, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
Drusila Esther Bayate, the Philippines
Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China
Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group
L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS
View of the room of PrepCom 3 from the perspective of the dais
Janine Coye-Felson, Belize, Facilitator of the informal working group on marine genetic resources
Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation
Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh
Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS)
Kamal Shali Ghimire, Nepal
Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico
Alain Tellier, Canada
José Luis Fernández Valoni, Argentina
Haryo Budi Nugroho, Indonesia
Matthías Pálsson, Iceland
Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway
Rena Lee, Singapore
Evan Bloom, US
Jihyun Lee and Joseph Appiott, Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat
Thembile Joyini, South Africa, consulting with Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria
Delegates from the African Group consulting