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New York UN

STATEMENT BY NATALIE Y. MORRIS-SHARMA, COUNSELLOR (LEGAL), PERMANENT MISSION OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON AGENDA ITEM 14, REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL UNDER ARTICLE 319 FOR THE INFORMATION OF STATES PARTIES ON ISSUES OF A GENERAL NATURE, RELEVANT TO STATES PARTIES, WHICH HAVE ARISEN WITH RESPECT TO THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA (A/69/71/ADD.1), AT THE TWENTY-FIFTH MEETING OF THE STATES PARTIES TO THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA, 11 JUNE 2015

11 June 2015

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Mr. President,


1.       My delegation thanks the Secretary-General for his extensive report, which seeks to provide an overview of the main trends and developments in ocean affairs and the law of the sea. In the interests of time, we will confine our comments to two key aspects of the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS): (a) the work of the bodies established under UNCLOS; and (b) the importance of implementing UNCLOS as the integral package that it was intended to be.


2.       Regarding the work of the bodies established under UNCLOS, during the course of this week, my delegation has closely followed and engaged in the discussions. My delegation had earlier delivered a statement on the Information reported by the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority. We would like to take this opportunity to also express our appreciation for the importance, to the implementation of UNCLOS, of the work of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (the Tribunal) and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (the Commission).


3.       My delegation reaffirms our support for the work of the Tribunal and our continued confidence in the Tribunal’s ability to handle the cases before it in a timely and efficient fashion. The judgments rendered by the Tribunal during the reporting period, and the advisory opinion rendered earlier this year, constitute valuable contributions to the rule of law at the international level.


4.       On the work of the Commission, my delegation thanks the Chair of the Commission for his letter, and we note the Commission’s decision to encourage States not to restrict the circulation of their communications only to the members of the Commission, to the extent possible. We welcome this decision. My delegation had previously expressed an interest in more information on the substance of the work of the Commission. This is particularly in view of Article 82 of UNCLOS, which relates to the obligations of coastal States to make payments or contributions in kind, and to Part XI of UNCLOS on the Area. Transparency in the work of the Commission is therefore of great value to all States Parties.


5.       The second key aspect is the implementation of UNCLOS as the integral package that it was intended to be.


6.       As the Secretary-General has highlighted in his report, “the implementation of the Convention cannot be effected in a piecemeal fashion, since the provisions of the Convention form an integral package”. My delegation strongly agrees with this statement. We also agree that this means that cross-sectoral cooperation and coordination and system-wide coherence are vital. Also vital are a greater awareness and a deeper understanding among all relevant stakeholders of the UNCLOS regime. This is especially the case for us this year at the UN, as we undertake discussions on the post 2015 development agenda and as we prepare to embark on the process for the development of an international legally-binding instrument under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.


Mr. President,


7.       I shall conclude by reflecting on the beginning. My delegation’s starting point

is, and has always been, the indisputable fact that the legal basis and legal regime for the oceans and seas is contained in UNCLOS. UNCLOS provides the legal framework for all activities in the oceans and seas. As we seek to implement UNCLOS, we must always be alive to how, in the words of Ambassador Tommy Koh of Singapore, who was the President of UNCLOS III, “the provisions of the Convention are closely interrelated . Although the Convention consists of a series of compromises, they form an integral whole”.


8.       Thank you


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