The fifth meeting of the Open-Ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (Consultative Process or UNICPOLOS) took place from 7-11 June 2004, at UN headquarters in New York.

The meeting brought together over 350 representatives from governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions.
The outcome of the meeting consists of: a report containing recommendations to the UN General Assembly for consideration at its 59th session under the agenda item “Oceans and the law of the sea”; a summary of plenary discussions and discussion panel sessions; and additions and amendments to issues that could benefit from attention in future work of the General Assembly, as contained in Part C of the report of the fourth meeting of the Consultative Process. The recommendations to the General Assembly address: cooperation and coordination on ocean issues; deep seabed biodiversity; marine scientific research; and issues for further consideration.
An international workshop was convened in conjunction with UNICPOLOS-5 to consider a process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socioeconomic aspects (GMA International Workshop). The report of the GMA International Workshop will be forwarded to the 59th session of the General Assembly under the agenda item “Oceans and the law of the sea.”
In stark contrast to high expectations at the beginning of the week regarding the main issues for discussion, namely the GMA and new sustainable uses of the oceans, delegates expressed mixed feelings about the outcomes of both the GMA International Workshop and the fifth meeting of the Consultative Process. By only recommending the establishment of a task force to initiate the next stage of preparatory work necessary to establish the formal GMA, the Workshop missed the opportunity to build on political momentum stemming from the WSSD. Similarly, in spite of alarming surveys and recent examples set by relevant international fora in the field of marine biodiversity conservation and management, States could not overcome longstanding entrenched positions, resulting in modest recommendations on destructive fishing practices and marine protected areas. To some extent, the Consultative Process may have become victim of its own success in trying to tackle issues that have not yet reached sufficient maturity. ENB’s coverage of this meeting, including daily and summary reports and photographs and Real Audio recordings, is available at: http://enb.iisd.org/oceans/icp5/