Parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) asked the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to consider meeting in New York, simultaneously with its subcommissions, for up to six months annually over the next five years.
17 June 2011: The 21st meeting of States parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) focused on administrative and budgetary questions relating to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), information reported by the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority and the Chairman of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), and the election of seven Tribunal members.
The meeting took place from 13-17 June 2011, at UN Headquarters in New York, US. 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 the the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, 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 General Assembly (UNGA) 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.
On 15 and 16 June, UNCLOS parties elected the following seven members to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for a nine-year term of office starting on 1 October 2011: David Attard (Malta), Jean-Pierre Cot (France), Zhiguo Gao (China), Elsa Kelly (Argentina), Markiyan Kulyk (Ukraine), Anthony Amos Lucky (Trinidad and Tobago), and Tafsir Malick Ndiaye (Senegal). [UN Press Release, 10 June 2011] [UN Press Release, 13 June 2011] [UN Press Release, 15 June 2011] [Meeting Website] [UN Journal, 21 June 2011]