Negotiating Bloc
Caribbean Community
Content associated with Caribbean Community
Summary report 4–9 September 2018
Bangkok Climate Change Conference - September 2018
Highlights and images for 4–17 September 2018
1st Session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyo...
IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, opened the first session of the IGC
The first 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) opened with general statements, focusing on:
• key features of the ILBI;
• priority issues to be addressed in the ILBI; and
• expectations concerning the process towards developing a zero draft.For extensive 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 reports and daily web coverage from BBNJ IGC 1. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel, on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres
IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore
Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS
Mohamed Omar Gad, Egypt, on behalf of the G-77/China
A view of the room of the IGC plenary from the dais
Andreas Papaconstantinou, EU
Ali Naseer Mohamed, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States
Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group
Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries
Participants from civil society.
Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Olai Uludong, Palau
Alain Tellier, Canada
Alice Revell, New Zealand
Dekalega Fintakpa Lamega, Togo
Generoso Calonge, the Philippines
Florian Botto, Monaco
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Holy See
Delegates from Ecuador consulting
Delegates from the Philippines
Delegates from Spain
L-R: Melanie Virtue, Convention on Migratory Species Secretariat and Jihyun Lee, Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat
L-R: Yongsheng Cai and Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, International Seabed Authority, in a conversation with Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh
Highlights and images for 11 July 2018
2018 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF 2018)
HLPF 2018 continued on Wednesday at UN Headquarters in New York. In the morning, two thematic reviews based on the theme of transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies took place:
perspectives of small island developing States (SIDS); and
perspectives of least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), and middle-income countries (MICs).
In the afternoon, the review of SDG implementation continued, with a session on SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities).
For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
Visit our coverage of selected side events at HLPF 2018
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from HLPF 2018.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Thematic Review:
Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies - SIDS Perspective
View of the dais during the session
Moderator Elizabeth Thompson, Permanent Representative-designate of Barbados to the UN
Marc Pecsteen, Vice-President of ECOSOC
Alexander Teabo, Minister for Environment, Lands and Agriculture Development, Kiribati
Addys Claribel Then Marte, Executive Director, NGO Alliance
Rhonda Robinson, Deputy Director, Water and Sanitation, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
Tessa Williams-Robertson, Head, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Unit, Caribbean Development Bank
Adrianus Vlugman, Water Sanitation, Environmental Health, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/ World Health Organization (WHO)
Vishal Luchoomun, Mauritius
Lucas Tavares, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
Pennelope Beckles, Trinidad and Tobago, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Thematic Review:
Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies - Perspectives of LDCs, LLDCs and MICs
View of the dais during the session
Moderator Karin Fernando, Center for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), Sri Lanka
Idriss Maïga Alzouma, President, African Disability Forum, and Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities
Maruxa Cardama, Cities Alliance, Belgium
Kaba Urgessa, State Minister for Environmental Sustainability, Ethiopia
Felipe Castro Pachón, Director, Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Policy, National Planning Department, Colombia
Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, UN High Representative for the LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS
Tareq Md. Ariful Islam, Bangladesh, speaking on behalf of LDCs
Rubén Escalante Hasbún, El Salvador
Maimuna Kabatesi, NGO Major Group
Bhakta Bishwakarma, Asia-Pacific Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
Review of SDG Implementation:
SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Benjamin Rae, Statistics Division, UN DESA
Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing
Moderator Rohit T. Aggarwala, Columbia University
Jean Todt, Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety
Meera Al Shaikh, Member of the SDG 11 Global Council, and Smart Dubai, UAE
Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
Wim Dries, Mayor of the City of Genk, and President, Flemish Association of Local Councils, Belgium
Penny Abeywardena, Commissioner for International Affairs, New York City
Shaila Shahid, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), and Women’s Major Group
Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State, Housing and Urban Affairs, India
Bogdan Toader, Romania
Pablo Fernández Marmissolle Daguerre, Mexico
Around the Venue
Elizabeth Thompson, Permanent Representative-designate of Barbados to the UN, and Irena Zubcevic, UN DESA
Delegates from Norway
Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State, Housing and Urban Affairs, India, speaks with a delegate
A delegate takes a photo of Vani Catanasiga, Fiji Council of Social Services, during an intervention
Delegates between sessions
An exhibition about Singapore's answer to SDG 6: ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Alan Bigelow, Solar Cookers International, explains how to harness zero-emissions solar energy
to cook food, to two children from Palestine enjoying the exhibits on display
Daily report for 11 July 2018
2018 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF 2018)
Highlights and images for 20 July 2017
4th Session of the BBNJ Preparatory Committee
On Thursday, 20 July, in an afternoon plenary, delegates considered a further revised Chair’s text including: a draft recommendation to the General Assembly on the substantive elements of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI), indicating that the structure and elements reflect the outcome of the PrepCom discussions, and are not exclusive and without prejudice to the position of states during the negotiations; a procedural recommendation to the General Assembly to take a decision, as soon as possible, on convening and intergovernmental conference (IGC) under the UN auspices, to consider the PrepCom’s substantive recommendations and to elaborate the ILBI text under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), with a starting date as early as possible; and two sections, one on elements of the draft ILBI text (section A) and the other on elements that require most attention towards further progress in the development of a draft ILBI text (section B).
Following a round of comments, Chair Duarte acknowledged that the revised draft did not fully reflect all positions; noted concerns expressed by some delegations and those requesting more time to make a decision; and adjourned the session, expressing willingness to exhaust every effort to arrive at consensus, in line with the PrepCom mandate, and inviting delegates to share suggestions with him.
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
John Brincat, EU
Lois Young, Belize, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China
James Ndirangu Waweru, Kenya
Hina Saeed Baig, Pakistan
Luke Daunivalu, Fiji, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS)
Juan Carlos Mendoza García, Costa Rica
Maxim Musikhin, Russian Federation
Rena Lee, Singapore
Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed
Countries (LDCs)
Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea
Ryan Fung A Loi, Suriname
Ariel Cayanan, the Philippines
Evan Bloom, US
Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico
Mohamed Atlassi, Morocco
Florian Botto, Monaco
Ma Xinmin, China
Narayanane Saravanane, India
Alain Tellier, Canada
EU delegates consulting immediately after the end of the session
Delegates from PSIDS consulting
Delegates in informal consultations
L-R: Elisa Morgera, IISD Reporting Services, in a discussion with John Brincat, EU
L-R: Alistair Graham, Australia, in a conversation with Gerardo Irimia, Panama
L-R: Susan Whelan, Holy See, in a conversation with Julian Jackson, The Pew Charitable Trusts
A delegate looking at IISD web coverage
Delegates from India
Daily report for 20 July 2017
4th Session of the BBNJ Preparatory Committee
Daily report for 19 July 2017
4th Session of the BBNJ Preparatory Committee
Highlights and images for 19 July 2017
4th Session of the BBNJ Preparatory Committee
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
Daily report for 18 July 2017
4th Session of the BBNJ Preparatory Committee