On June 19,2023, the further resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Conference on 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 took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The session lasting for two days was convened in accordance with UN General Assembly 77/556 with Member States expected to adopt the new BBNJ treaty.
The delegation of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) is participating in the meeting on the spot and bringing us the latest reports.
At BBNJ IGC-5.2, delegations worked in closed-door talks for over 36 hours at the end of the meeting, unlocking key points of contention related to marine genetic resources and finance.
In preparation for formal adoption of the new treaty, the IGC established an open-ended informal working group to undertake technical edits to ensure uniformity of the text and harmonize the wording in all six UN official languages, and requested the working group to report to a further resumed session of IGC-5.2.
Before the session, Mr. Csaba K?r?si, President of the United Nations General Assembly indicated that this agreement is the outcome of a major and vital multilateral undertaking of nearly two decades of work under the General Assembly for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
He said that building on the legacy of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, this groundbreaking achievement contributes to reaffirming the role of the United Nations as an effective forum for multilaterally agreed solutions to global challenges, including those facing the world’s ocean. Its effective and timely implementation will make crucial contributions to addressing the triple planetary crisis, as well as to achieving ocean-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Ms. Rena Lee, President of the BBNJ Intergovernmental Conference, said there were several functions that are assigned to the Secretary-General of the United Nations under the Agreement. These functions include, among others, to convene the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties no later than one year after the entry into force of the Agreement (article 47), to perform the secretariat functions until such time as the secretariat established under the Agreement commences its functions (article 50), and to serve as the depository of the Agreement (article 75).
When the Agreement enters into force, the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties will need to be convened within a year. That meeting is tasked, under the Agreement, with adopting rules of procedure for itself and its subsidiary bodies as well as financial rules (article 47), determining the terms of reference and modalities for the operation of its subsidiary bodies (articles 46, 49 and 55), making arrangements for the functioning of the secretariat (article 50), and agreeing with the Global Environment Facility upon arrangements to give effect to relevant provisions on funding (article 52), among others. In this respect, a process, to be established under the auspices of the General Assembly, to carry out the required preparations for that first meeting, and to provide guidance on the work of the interim secretariat until the convening of that meeting, would be very helpful.
Author: Sara
Checked by: Daisy
Editor: Sara
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