STATEMENT BY MRS. NATALIE Y. MORRIS-SHARMA, COUNSELLOR, PERMANENT MISSION OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS, AT THE 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, 20 JANUARY 2015

Mr. and Mdm. Chairpersons,

1.                       Singapore looks forward to working with you and other delegations towards a successful outcome of this week’s meeting in the adoption of draft recommendations to the 69th session of the General Assembly.  Singapore has appreciated the constructive approach of delegations at the working group meetings in April and June last year, and we believe that the working group is making good progress towards ensuring that the 69th session of the General Assembly can take a decision in the right direction.

2.                       My delegation aligns itself with the statements delivered on behalf of the G77 and China and of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).  Singapore has previously provided our inputs on the scope, parameters and feasibility of an international instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction (BBNJ) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which can be found in the informal working document compiled by the Secretariat in March 2014 containing the views of Member States.  Our views have not changed.

3.                       Singapore believes that in any expression of the working group’s commitment to commencing negotiations on a new implementing agreement, we must reaffirm that an international instrument on BBNJ has to be feasible and effective.  Any such international instrument should be developed and applied in line with UNCLOS as a single instrument, respecting the delicate balance of interests enshrined in UNCLOS. 

4.                       Turning to the specific and detailed elements of the possible content of an international instrument, my delegation notes that the co-chairs’ non-paper lists a series of elements related to institutions.  In our view, new structures or institutions should only be established if they are considered to be necessary. We also agree with the sentiment shared by other delegations that it is challenging to pre-determine the nature of any new institutions without any clarity as to the regime that is being established. While Singapore continues to keep an open mind on all institutional issues on the table, we urge delegations to consider each element and its implications carefully so that should a new institution prove necessary, the outcome of the institutional design proves coherent and efficient, including in practice and in the long run.  A considered approach should also inform the working group’s discussion of recommendations related to the specific content of an international instrument, such as in respect of transboundary environmental impact assessments.  Care should be exercised in identifying and calibrating for BBNJ approaches that were developed in the context of planned activities that occur within the jurisdiction or control of a State. 

5.                       That being said, for the purposes of our draft recommendations to the General Assembly, my delegation is of the view that the matter of the inclusion or exclusion of specific concepts or ideas in the international instrument need not be enumerated in as much detail as reflected in the co-chairs’ non paper.  Much can be left to be negotiated under the auspices of the negotiation process, once launched. 

Mr. and Mdm. Chairpersons,

6.                       Singapore is open to discussing the modalities for the negotiations for an implementing agreement under UNCLOS.  We agree that, if we recommend that an intergovernmental conference to negotiate an international instrument be convened, we should ensure that such conference has an agreed deadline.

7.                       Thank you.

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