African Group

On Tuesday morning, the Assembly and Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) held their opening plenaries back to back, addressing their respective administrative matters. The Assembly also considered requests for observer status. The Legal and Technical Commission resumed its work in the afternoon. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 23rd Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. L-R: Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, Legal Counsel and Deputy to the Secretary-General; Michael Lodge, ISA Secretary-General; Christine Griffiths, ISA Secretariat; Khurshed Alam, Assembly President for the 22nd Session; and Chris Brown, ISA Secretariat Assembly delegates observing a moment of silence Khurshed Alam, Assembly President for the 22nd Session Michael Lodge, ISA Secretary-General Khurshed Alam, outgoing Assembly President congratulates Eugénio João Muianga, incoming Assembly President Sheila Sealy Monteith, Jamaica Gaia Puleston, Australia Khurshed Alam, Assembly President for the 22nd Session Mariusz Orion Jędrysek, Poland Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Graham Leung, Nauru Dakuku Peterside, Nigeria Kenneth Wong, Canada Jean-Michel Despax, France Duncan Laki Muhumuza, Uganda Robert Ward, International Hydrographic Organization Participants at the opening Council plenary Carlos Alberto Michaelsen Den Hartog, Brazil Mariusz Orion Jędrysek, Poland, Council President for the 22nd Session Ariel Fernández, Argentina, Council President for the 23rd Session Michael Lodge, ISA Secretary-General, welcoming delegates from Tonga L-R: Thembile Joyini, South Africa; Duncan Currie, Greenpeace; and Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria Delegates from China

On Friday, 21 July, plenary resumed at 3:45 pm. Chair Duarte offered draft recommendations arising from informal bilateral consultations, clarifying that: the elements of the draft text of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) do not reflect consensus; section A includes non-exclusive elements that generated convergence among most delegations; section B highlights some of the main issues on which there is divergence of views; and both sections are for reference purposes because they do not reflect all options discussed and are without prejudice to states’ positions during the negotiations. In addition, the draft included: a recommendation to the UN General Assembly to take a decision, as soon as possible, on the convening of an intergovernmental conference (IGC), under the auspices of the UN, to consider the PrepCom recommendations on the elements and to elaborate the text of an ILBI under the Convention; and an indication that the titles of the two sections be removed (namely, “elements of an ILBI draft text” and “elements requiring most attention towards further progress in the development of an ILBI draft text”) . Plenary was immediately suspended to allow for regional consultations. 7:25 pm: regional consultations are still ongoing 8:59 pm: plenary resumes 9:10 pm: plenary adopts recommendations to UN General Assembly 10:01 pm: Chair Duarte gaveled the meeting to a close The Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis of PrepCom 4 will be available on Monday, 24 July 2017, online at: http://enb.iisd.org/oceans/bbnj/prepcom4/ IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 4th 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. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Dais applaudes the conclusion of PrepCom 4 Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, gaveled the meeting to a close at 10:01 pm L-R: Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, in discussion with John Brincat, EU L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Delegates waiting for the resumption of PrepCom 4 Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea (right), in a conversation with delegates from Cameroon L-R: Elizabeth Rodríguez Santiago, American Society of International Law, confers with Stella Bartolini Cavicchi, World Ocean Council Delegates from Iceland reviewing draft text Delegates from the African Group reviewing draft text Delegates from Norway and Iceland consulting Delegates from the African Group consulting Delegates from Canada consulting L-R: Zentaro Naganuma, Japan, with Ma Xinmin, China L-R: Evan Bloom, US, with Zentaro Naganuma, Japan L-R: Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS, with Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, International Seabed Authority (ISA) L-R: Alain Tellier, Canada, with Ma Xinmin, China L-R: Zentaro Naganuma, Japan, with Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway L-R: Alain Tellier, Canada, confers with Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, with Matthías Pálsson, Iceland L-R Maxim Musikhin, Russian Federation and Larisa Chernysheva, Russian Federation, in conversation with Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil (right), in discussions with Evan Bloom, US Duncan Currie, Greenpeace (center), with delegates from the Russian Federation L-R: Tallash Kantai, IISD Reporting Services, in conversation with Matthías Pálsson, Iceland L-R: Tidiani Couma, Joëlle Casanova, and Florian Botto, Monaco Delegates from China Delegates from the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean Delegates from the African Group Participants from the High Seas Alliance

On Wednesday, 19 July, delegates met in plenary in the morning and in the early afternoon to continue consideration of a revised Chair’s text containing draft recommendations to the UN General Assembly, focusing on the following draft elements of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI): environmental impact assessments, capacity building and technology transfer (CB&TT), institutional arrangements, and final clauses. Plenary also considered: a chapeau to the draft elements of the ILBI; and a procedural recommendation calling on the UN General Assembly to convene an intergovernmental conference as soon as possible, with a possible starting date of 2018. In the afternoon, Chair Duarte held informal closed consultations on: the ILBI relationships with other legal instruments and relevant bodies; international cooperation; access to marine genetic resources (MGRs), types of benefits to be shared, IPRs and monitoring of MGR utilization; relationships between on area-based management tools and measures under other instruments, and adjacency; strategic environmental assessments; terms for technology transfer, and funding for CB&TT; institutional arrangements; financing; responsibility and liability; and a procedural recommendation to the General Assembly. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 4th 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. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Wini Broadbelt, EU Lizanne Aching, Trinidad and Tobago Larisa Chernysheva, Russian Federation Jung-Eun Kim, Republic of Korea Alice Revell, New Zealand Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Zakieh Taghizadeh, Iran Audrey Naana Abayena, Ghana Diedre Mills, Jamaica, on behalf of CARICOM María Alejandrina Sande, Uruguay, making an intervention Edgar Gutiérrez Espeleta, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica Jean Kenfack, Cameroon Teresa Cruz Sardiñas, Cuba Michael Googan, Australia Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Alejandro Alday, Mexico Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Leonito Bacalando Jr., Federated States of Micronesia Ma Xinmin, China Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China Ariel Cayanan, the Philippines Matthías Pálsson, Iceland John Fintakpa Lamega, Togo Evan Bloom, US View of the informal consultations L-R: Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, in a conversation with Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation L-R: Hiba Obaid Darwish Alsheihi, Hiba AlSaleh, and Hassina Ali, United Arab Emirates Delegates from the Philippines

On Tuesday, 18 July, delegates met in plenary throughout the day to continue consideration of a revised Chair’s text containing draft recommendations to the UN General Assembly. Discussions focused on the following draft elements of a new international legally binding instrument: general elements, including use of terms, scope of application, objectives and relationships with other instruments; general principles and approaches; marine genetic resources; area-based management tools, including marine protected areas; and environmental impact assessments. Chair Duarte proposed concluding consideration of the revised Chair’s draft on Wednesday morning; holding informal consultations with interested delegations on Wednesday afternoon on difficult points on a non-objection basis; and if no reformulation is possible, developing another section in the draft recommendations to deal with non-consensus points. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 4th 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. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS View of PrepCom 4 participants Zakieh Taghizadeh, Iran Alice Revell, New Zealand Jean Kenfack, Cameroon María Claudia Vélez Crismatt, Colombia Paulo José Chiarelli, Brazil Metod Špacek, EU Teresa Cruz Sardiñas, Cuba Michael Googan, Australia John Fintakpa Lamega, Togo Larisa Chernysheva, Russian Federation Martin Zvachula, Federated States of Micronesia Ma Xinmin, China Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Rena Lee, Singapore Evan Bloom, US L-R: René Lefeber, Tom Diederen, and Wini Broadbelt, the Netherlands Alistair Graham, Australia, in a conversation with delegates from China Zentaro Naganuma, Japan, confers with Diedre Mills, Jamaica L-R: Evan Bloom, US, in a discussion with Zentaro Naganuma, Japan Joan Yang, Nauru (second from right) in a discussion with delegates from Canada and Switzerland Delegates from the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) consulting Delegates from the African Group in informal consultations Publications at PrepCom 4

On Thursday, 13 July, the informal working group on capacity building and technology transfer continued discussions in the morning, focusing on: objectives, principles, modalities, clearinghouse mechanism, funding, monitoring and review, and definitions. The informal working group on crosscutting issues, facilitated by Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, focused on: institutional arrangements, including a decision-making forum, a scientific/technical body, a clearinghouse, a financial mechanism, dispute settlement, responsibility and liability, and review; and the preamble of an international legally binding instrument. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 4th 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. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Rena Lee, Singapore, Facilitator of the informal working group on capacity building and transfer of marine technology; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Vita Onwuasoanya, UNDOALOS Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Sabita Nakarmi, Nepal Faiyaz Murshid Kazi, Bangladesh Marc Richir, EU Carlos García Reyes, Guatemala Saifu George, Sierra Leone Jorge Dotta, Uruguay Vladimir Ryabinin, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Riena Dwi Astuty, Indonesia Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Dhisadee Chamlongrasdr, Thailand James Ndirangu Waweru, Kenya Rogelio Villanueva Jr., the Philippines Mohamed Atlassi, Morocco Audrey Naana Abayena, Ghana Tatiana Shuvalova, Russian Federation Luke Tang, Singapore Jean Kenfack, Cameroon Tevita Suka Mangisi, Tonga Alain Tellier, Canada Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Zentaro Naganuma, Japan Estrella Tulay, the Philippines Landisang Kotaro, Palau Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, facilitating the informal working group on crosscutting issues L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS; and Michele Ameri, UNDOALOS Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Zakieh Taghizadeh, Iran Metod Špaček, EU Duncan Currie, Greenpeace Evan Bloom, US Oleg Rykov, Russian Federation Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Aboubacar Oulare, Guinea Florian Botto, Monaco L-R: Zentaro Naganuma, Japan, in a conversation with Matthías Pálsson, Iceland Delegates from the Caribbean Community Delegates from Germany

On Wednesday, 12 July, the informal working group on area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs), continued discussions on the designation process, as well as on implementation, relationships to existing instruments, and monitoring and review. The informal working group on environmental impact assessments (EIAs), facilitated by René Lefeber (the Netherlands), then addressed: obligations, guiding principles and approaches, criteria and thresholds, process, content of EIA reports, relationships to existing instruments, clearinghouse mechanisms, capacity building and technology transfer, and monitoring and review. The informal working group on capacity building and technology transfer, facilitated by Rena Lee (Singapore), started discussion of objectives, and guiding principles and approaches. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 4th 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. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); Alice Revell, New Zealand, Facilitator of the informal working group on ABMTs, including MPAs; Valentina Germani, UNDOALOS; and Carlos Fuentes, UNDOALOS Siai Taylor, Cook Islands Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway Ma Xinmin, China Riena Dwi Astuty, Indonesia Michael Googan, Australia Blaise Kuemlangan, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Rena Lee, Singapore Evan Bloom, US Alice Revell, New Zealand, Facilitator of the informal working group on ABMTs, including MPAs Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China Veronica Frank, Greenpeace Zentaro Naganuma, Japan Arnór Snæbjörnsson, Iceland Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Leonito Bacalando Jr., Federated States of Micronesia John Fintakpa Lamega, Togo Kate Neilson, New Zealand L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; René Lefeber, the Netherlands, Facilitator of the informal working group on environmental impact assessments; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; René Lefeber, the Netherlands, Facilitator of the informal working group on environmental impact assessments; Michael Schewchuk, UNDOALOS; and Yoshinobu Takei, UNDOALOS Wini Broadbelt, EU Lizanne Aching, Trinidad and Tobago, on behalf of the Caribbean Community Babajide Alo, Nigeria Oleg Rykov, Russian Federation Cymie Payne, IUCN Cheikhy Sidi, Mauritania Clarissa Jacqueline Caancan, the Philippines Duncan Currie, Greenpeace Penny Race, New Zealand L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Rena Lee, Singapore, Facilitator of the informal working group on capacity building and transfer of marine technology; and Vita Onwuasoanya, UNDOALOS Kathleen Siala Taituave, Samoa Da Hee Song, Republic of Korea Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Martin Zvachula, Federated States of Micronesia Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group L-R: Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, consulting with Thembile Joyini, South Africa L-R: Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation, in a conversation with Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway, and Evan Bloom, US Delegates from Fiji and Samoa Delegates from the Philippines

On Monday, 10 July, the fourth session of the Preparatory Committee on the elements of a draft text of 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) opened with the plenary addressing administrative matters and hearing general statements. In the afternoon, the informal working group on marine genetic resources (MGRs), facilitated by Janine Coye-Felson (Belize), convened to discuss scope, guiding principles and approaches, access and benefit-sharing. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 4th 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. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Chair 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 Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel, giving his opening address to PrepCom4 L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Alice Revell, New Zealand Jane Chigiyal, Federated States of Micronesia Horacio Sevilla-Borja, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group John Brincat, EU Marlene Moses, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Teodoro Locsin Jr., the Philippines Ma Xinmin, China Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Evan Bloom, US, making an intervention Faiyaz Murshid Kazi, Bangladesh Matthías Pálsson, Iceland Michael Googan, Australia Cristóbal Hernández Castillo, Chile Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Rishy Bukoree, Mauritius Alain Tellier, Canada Florian Botto, Monaco Carlos García Reyes, Guatemala Kathryn Garforth, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Louise Kantrow, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Ariel Hernán Troisi, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) -UNESCO Kristina Gjerde, IUCN Stefan Micallef, International Maritime Organization Takehiro Nakamura, UN Environment Peggy Kalas, High Seas Alliance Gustavo Arévalo Castro, Comisión Permanente del Pacifico Sur (CPPS) L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); Janine Coye-Felson, Belize, Facilitator of the informal working group on marine genetic resources; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS James Ndirangu Waweru, Kenya Konrad Marciniak, EU Rogelio Villanueva Jr., the Philippines Delegates from the Federated States of Micronesia and Nauru consulting L-R: Ma Xinmin, China, in a conversation with Evan Bloom, US Delegates from the African Group