Pacific Small Island Developing States

The High-level Segment/ Ministerial Meeting of HLPF 2018 opened on Monday at UN Headquarters in New York. The opening session was followed by two sessions on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), where 14 countries presented their reports: Ecuador, Kiribati, Lithuania, Mali, Guinea, Greece, Mexico, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Benin, Cabo Verde, Slovakia, Bahrain, Colombia, and Viet Nam. A parallel session in the afternoon included: reporting on regional forums; an address by the President of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA); an introduction to the UN Secretary-General’s reports on the UN Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) main theme and thematic discussion; and an introduction to the report of the Committee for Development Policy. A general debate started on Monday afternoon. 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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening of the High-Level Segment of ECOSOC / Ministerial Segment of HLPF View of the dais during the opening of the high-level segment Miroslav Lajčák, President of the UNGA UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed Marie Chatardová, President of ECOSOC Michelle Yeoh, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador and Actress Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Delegates gather for the opening of the High-Level Segment Voluntary National Reviews Mahamane A. Maiga, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mali José Augusto Briones, National Secretary of Planning and Development, Ecuador Socrates Famellos, Alternate Minister of Environment and Energy, Greece Teuea Toatu, Minister for Finance and Economic Development, Kiribati Kęstutis Navickas, Minister of Environment, Lithuania Delegates watch a video about fabrics made from sustainable wood fibers, presented by Michelle Yeoh, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and Actress Kanny Diallo, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Guinea Abdullah Naser Lootah, Director General, Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, UAE Luis Fernando Mejía Alzate, Minister of National Planning, Colombia José da Silva Gonçalves, Minister of Tourism and Transport, and Maritime Economy, Cabo Verde Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, Minister of State for Planning and Development, Benin Francisco Guzmán Ortiz, Head of the Office of the President, Mexico Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Mutawa, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Bahrain Richard Raši, Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Information, Slovakia Nguyen The Phuong, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Planning and Development, Viet Nam Reporting on Regional Forums Delegates gather in the Trusteeship Council for the report on regional forums Jerry Matthews Matjila, Vice-President, ECOSOC Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Georgia Mame Thierno Dieng, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Senegal Ghassan Hasbani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, Lebanon Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Cuba Siim Kiisler, President of UNEA, and Minister of Environment, Estonia Michael Gerber, Special Envoy for Global Sustainable Development, Federal Department for Foreign Affairs, Switzerland General Debate View of the dais during the general debate José Antonio Ocampo, Chair, UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP) Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Egypt, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Alicia Beatriz Pucheta de Correa, Vice-President, Paraguay, speaking on behalf of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for the Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, EU President Thomas Esang Remengesau Jr., Palau, speaking on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Around the Venue Sergio Bergman, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Argentina UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed speaks with delegates Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General, Economic and Social Affairs, speaks with Juan José Gómez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN Erik Solheim, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, and Jamil Ahmad, UNEP Reinaldo Salgado, Brazil, speaks with a delegate Delegates from Kyrgyzstan Delegates from Jamaica Delegates from Guinea Ibrahim Thiaw, UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Sahel Delegates between sessions An exhibition about the New Urban Agenda and the 'Right to the City' encourages people to understand the linkages between SDGs, and how these relate to creating sustainable cities

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 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

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 Friday, 14 July, delegates met in the informal working group on crosscutting issues, discussing: use of terms, scope and objective of the ILBI, relationship with other agreements; as well as guiding principles and approaches, and international cooperation, for BBNJ conservation and sustainable use. In the afternoon, plenary resumed to discuss next steps including the convening of an intergovernmental conference and the status of the Chair’s streamlined non-paper. 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; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Metod Špaček, EU Alice Revell, New Zealand Matthías Pálsson, Iceland Audrey Naana Abayena, Ghana Kabure Yeeting, Kiribati Josefina Bunge, Argentina Javier Gorostegui, Chile Narayanane Saravanane, India Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh Juan Cuéllar Torres, Colombia Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Diedre Mills, Jamaica, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Participants at PrepCom 4 Sesselja Sigurdardóttir, Iceland Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Mamadou Diallo, Senegal Rena Lee, Singapore Evan Bloom, US Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Rogelio Villanueva Jr., the Philippines Lisa Speer, Natural Resources Defense Council Zentaro Naganuma, Japan Hina Saeed Baig, Pakistan Ma Xinmin, China L-R: Kristina Gjerde, Cymie Payne, and Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, IUCN L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS L-R: Javier Gorostegui, Chile, in a conversation with Metod Špaček, EU Greenpeace images and encouraging messages from the Alboran Sea Duncan Currie (second from right), Greenpeace, in a discussion with delegates from New Zealand Delegates from WWF