Summary
Highlights for Tuesday, 20 August 2019
The third session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) 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 (BBNJ) convened in New York on Tuesday, with delegates meeting in an open informal working group, as well as behind closed doors in two “informal-informals.”
During the informal working group, they discussed capacity building and the transfer of marine technology (CB&TT), focusing on specific aspects related to the objectives of CB&TT, cooperation, and modalities.
Highlights of the day include:
In the afternoon, IGC President Lee offered a brief summary of the informal-informals held during the morning, focusing on CB&TT modalities.
She highlighted, inter alia, that participants had: expressed diverging views in favor of CB&TT being provided on a voluntary or mandatory basis; elaborated on the circumstances under which CB&TT would be voluntary and mandatory, respectively; and exchanged opinions about “what we are trying to achieve here” and whether the new treaty should reflect “what is in UNCLOS” or go beyond the Convention.
In the corridors, some delegates found the new format refreshing while others expressed concerns about the new closed-door negotiating modalities, noting that, “Limiting participation at a time where transparency and public engagement have become a central tenet across the global political spectrum does not seem to be a step in the right direction.” 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 ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from BBNJ IGC-3. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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Photos in the corridors
Informal Working Group
