New UNCLOS Accession

The Republic of Peru deposited its instrument of accession to UNCLOS on 24 September. This brings the total parties to 163 states plus the European Union. The number of non-parties is now down to 34, 19 of which are landlocked. There remain 15 coastal states, including the United States, outside the Convention.

Marine Biodiversity BBNJ

The IUCN Environmental Law Centre (IUCN-ELC) in collaboration with the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) recently organized an international seminar with the objective of making substantive progress in the further development of ideas and concepts regarding recommendations from the 4th meeting of the UN Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction (BBNJ). Three main issues discussed, amongst others, that play a key role in the BBNJ process included:
- Possible ways of sharing benefits from the utilization of marine genetic resources accessed in areas beyond national jurisdiction;
- Possible governance frameworks for the establishment and management of a network of Marine Protected Areas on the High Seas; and
- Possible role of and consequences for an UNCLOS implementing agreement.

The workshop report will be published at the beginning of 2012.

Background information and presentations

Oceans and Coasts at Rio+20

Several UN entities have issued a Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability highlighting the role of oceans in sustainable development and offering recommendations ahead of UNCSD (Rio+20). Among the proposed measures are: - creating a global blue carbon market as a means of creating direct economic gain through habitat protection;
- filling governance gaps in the high seas by reinforcing UNCLOS;
- supporting the development of green economies in SIDS;
- promoting research on ocean acidification, specifically how to adapt to it and mitigate it;
- increasing institutional capacity for scientific monitoring of oceans and coastal areas;
- reforming and reinforcing regional ocean management organizations;
- promoting responsible fisheries and aquaculture in a green economy;
- strengthening legal frameworks to address aquatic invasive species;
- "greening" the nutrient economy; and
- enhancing coordination, coherence and effectiveness of the UN system on ocean issues.

UNCLOS/ICP-12

The 12th meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process (ICP) on Oceans and the Law of the Sea completed its meeting on 24 June concenring the theme “contributing to the assessment, in the context of the [UNCSD (Rio+20)] of progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development and addressing new and emerging challenges”
The Co-Chairs’ Summary of Discussions will be sent to the UN/GA for consideration at its 66th session under the agenda item, “Oceans and the law of the sea.” Furthermore, the Chairs will request that the President of the Assembly also submit the report to the UNCSD Bureau for incorporation in the compilation document, on which the “zero draft” of the UNCSD outcome will be based.

IISD RS Coverage of ICP 12

UNCLOS: MSP-21 Outcomes

The 21st meeting of States parties to UNCLOS focused on administrative and budgetary questions relating to ITLOS, information reported by the Secretary-General of the ISA and the Chairman of CLCS, and the election of seven Tribunal members.

On the opening day, parties elected several Bureau members and the provisional agenda for their week-long session. They also elected by acclamation Camillo Gonsalves (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) as President of the meeting, who underscored the importance of the Convention for the sustainable use of ocean resources, navigation and protection of the marine environment.

On issues relating to CLCS, meeting participants asked the Commission to consider meeting in New York, simultaneously with its subcommissions, for up to six months annually over the next five years, and recommended that any request for Secretariat resources to facilitate more working weeks be presented to the UN/GA during its 66th session.

UNCLOS parties also adopted by consensus a draft decision that recalls the obligation of States with experts serving on the Commission to defray all their related expenses, and urged those States to ensure their experts’ full participation in the Commission’s work. The draft further urged those States parties in a position to do so to make contributions to the Voluntary Trust Fund.

Meeting Website

John Bellinger on UNCLOS and Arctic

Thanks to LOS News we are happy to transmit the following article by former State Department Legal Adviser John Bellinger that appeared on the Foreign Policy magazine website:

Arctic treasure

Posted By John B. Bellinger III   Thursday, May 19, 2011 - 11:24 AM

The following is a guest post by John B. Bellinger III, a partner at Arnold & Porter LLP and an adjunct senior fellow in international and national security law at the Council on Foreign Relations. John served as legal advisor for the Department of State from 2005 to 2009 and legal advisor to the National Security Council from 2001 to 2005. --Peter Feaver

Last Saturday, with U.S. gas prices at record highs, President Obama announced the administration's plans to boost domestic oil and gas production by expanding drilling and exploration in U.S. coastal waters, including in the Gulf of Mexico and off of Alaska. But the president missed an important opportunity to endorse an international agreement that would codify U.S. sovereign rights to vast additional oil and gas deposits under the Arctic Ocean off of Alaska: the Law of the Sea Convention. The omission was especially puzzling after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while participating in a summit of the eight Arctic Council countries held two days previously in Nuuk, Greenland, declared U.S. ratification of the treaty "way overdue." The president should capitalize on calls by congressional Republicans and the oil and gas industry to increase domestic oil and gas production by urging the Senate to ratify the convention this year.

The Law of the Sea Convention was negotiated in 1982 to provide a comprehensive legal framework to govern international activities in, over, and under the world's oceans. Today, 160countries are parties. The treaty guarantees all countries the right to freedom of navigation through and over the territorial seas of coastal states. With the largest fleet in the world, the U.S. Navy -- together with our Air Force, Army, Marines, and Coast Guard -- have long urged the Senate to approve the convention in order to codify their critical navigational rights, which are often challenged by other countries.

The treaty also gives coastal states sovereign rights to the fish and living marine resources in the ocean and oil, gas, and minerals under the seas within 200 miles of their coasts. And it gives coastal states additional rights to the oil, gas, and minerals on their continental shelves, but only if they prove to an international commission established by the convention that these geologic shelves extend more than 200 miles from their coasts.

The "extended continental shelf" of the United States extends more than 600 miles into the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Alaska, covering an area twice the size of California. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that this area contains nearly a hundred billion barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, as well as extensive deposits of valuable minerals.

The four other countries bordering the Arctic Ocean -- Russia, Canada, Norway, and Denmark -- have already enriched themselves and their people by tapping into their coastal oil and gas deposits and are staking claims to vast additional resources on their extended continental shelves in the Arctic. Norway's oil fund -- derived from revenues from oil and gas production in the North Sea -- is already worth $500 billion.

While these countries laugh all the way to the oil and gas bank, the U.S. sits on the sidelines unable to claim the resources on its extended continental shelf in the Arctic because it is not a party to the Law of the Sea treaty. U.S. oil and gas companies simply will not invest in these areas unless the U.S. has clear legal title. Unfortunately, a handful of Republican senators have blocked U.S. ratification of the treaty based on myths and misperceptions about the treaty. Even where their concerns may have some merit, they are heavily outweighed by the substantial national security and economic benefits to the American people of joining the treaty and the high costs of not joining.

Although the Law of the Sea treaty is complex, many Republicans who have considered the treaty carefully have endorsed it. The Bush administration -- which was rarely accused of overabundant enthusiasm about international law and institutions -- concluded after a lengthy internal review that the treaty is vital to U.S. economic and national security and urged the Senate to approve it. Even Sarah Palin, when she was governor of Alaska, strongly supported Senate approval, arguing that although "ratification of the convention has been thwarted by a small group of senators who are concerned about the perceived loss of U.S. sovereignty … I believe quite the contrary is true."

President Obama's apparent reluctance to push for Senate approval of the convention is understandable in light of competing legislative priorities and the uphill battle his administration experienced securing Senate approval of the New START treaty last December. But the president should seize the opportunity presented by Republican support for increased domestic oil and gas production to urge the Senate to approve the treaty.

Republican senators, industry groups, and corporations who quietly support the convention also need to play a more active role in championing it. They should rebut the myths and vigorously explain the substantial benefits of the treaty to undecided or skeptical senators, rather than leaving the work solely to the executive branch. And they should let the White House know they are prepared to support it.

Of all the treaties currently pending before the Senate, the Law of the Sea Convention offers the most extensive economic and national security advantages to the American people. There is still time on the Senate calendar this year to consider and approve it. President Obama should make it his administration's top treaty priority, and Senate Republicans should support its passage.

UN/S-G: Report on Oceans

As requested in its Resolution 65/37, the UN/GA has released a report (A/66/70/Add.1) of the Secretary-General on “Oceans and the Law of the Sea,” ahead of the 12th meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process (ICP) on Oceans and the Law of the Sea. It is aimed at facilitating discussions on the topic of focus at ICP 12, such as contributing to the assessment, in the context of (UNCSD (Rio+20), of progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development and addressing new and emerging challenges. The report  is also submitted to the 21st meeting of States parties to UNCLOS, which took place from 13-17 June.

USA: Article discussing Arctic Council Ministerial and UNCLOS

The Anchorage Daily News published an article on May 21 titled "Summit shows US is Trying to Catch Up on Arctic issues" that provided some follow-up on the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting held in Nuuk (Greenland) and included a number of statements from John Bellinger and Lisa Murkowski on the need for the US to ratify UNCLOS.

IUCN: Marine News

Marine News, Issue 8 features an editorial by David Freestone and Kristina Gjerde on "High Seas on the Road to Rio+20," as well as articles on Arctic hotspots, climate change mitigation and adaptation, ocean acidification, the first satellite-tagged western grey whale and marine protected areas (MPAs).

Conference: "Maritime Border Diplomacy"

The Center for Oceans Law and Policy will hold its 35th annual Conference on the Law of the Sea and Ocean policy in Bali (Indonesia) on June 22-14.

The primary panel themes will be:

-Context for Maritime Border diplomacy

-Provisional Arrangements of a Practical Nature

-Archipelagic Resources in South East Asia region

-Marine Environment and Boundaries

-Disputed [Unresolved] Boundaries in the Region

-Dispute Settlement Mechanisms

Participants include three judges from the International Tribunal for the law of the Sea as well as veteran negotiators of the 1982 LOS Convention Satya Nandan of Fiji and Hasjim Djalal of Indonesia.

Conference Programme

USA: Alaskan Legislature Joint Resolution on UNCLOS

The Alaska Legislature sent a resolution on April 6 to the US Congress urging it to sign UNCLOS and thus protect the nation's rights in the Arctic and be a part of the governing body for world ocean policy.

House Joint Resolution 19 passed the Alaska Senate by a vote of 15-2 and was sent to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chair John Kerry, SCFR Ranking Republican Richard Lugar, Alaska's congressional delegation, and all other members of the U.S. Senate.

Mauritius v. UK: Dispute related to 'Marine Protected Area' and Chagos Archipelago

Under Article 287 and Annex VII, Article 1 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Mauritius has served  a notification and statement of claim to the United Kingdom regarding the legality of the declared Marine Protected Area (MPA) around the Chagos Archipelago.

In seeking relief, "Mauritius requests the Annex VII arbitral tribunal of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to declare, in accordance with the provisions of UNCLOS and the applicable rules of international law not incompatible with the Convention that, in respect of the Chagos Archipelago:

(1) the ‘MPA’ is not compatible with the 1982 Convention, and is without legal effect; and/or

(2) the United Kingdom is not a ‘coastal state’ within the meaning of the 1982 Convention and is not competent to establish the ‘MPA’; and/or

(3) only Mauritius is entitled to declare an exclusive zone under Part V of the 1982 Convention within which a marine protected area might be declared."

The notification and statement of claim are available through the website of the American Society of International Law at: http://www.asil.org/interest-groups-public-files.cfm.

Satellite view of Diego Garcia Atoll, Chagos Archipelago