Highlights and images for 28 February 2019

Jamaica

Summary

Highlights for Thursday, 28 February 2019

The Council during Thursday’s proceedings

International Seabed Authority 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

    Participants