Statements

President, 4 March 2023: Plenary

President of the Conference, Rena Lee, “The ship has reached the shore.”  The President confirmed that the text of the Agreement had been finalised and will now be reviewed for technical edits and then translated into all six official languages of the UN, before being formally adopted. In order to ensure that the text has … Continued

4 March 2023

Cuba (G77 & China), 4 March 2023: Plenary

Cuba personally thanked the President for her patience, kindness and support throughout the BBNJ process. “We always said that from the side of the G77 and China, and from the side of Cuba, we were going to deliver. And we delivered.”

Nicaragua, 4 March 2023: Plenary

Nicaragua raised that the method of work did not guarantee the quality, the equity, the balance and the transparency in the process, with multiple parallel meetings making it difficult for small delegations to participate. Nicaragua also reserved their position on the draft text until such a time that the draft text had been reviewed and … Continued

Russian Federation, 4 March 2023: Plenary

The Russian Federation were unable to comment on their position on the substance of the draft text, stating that more time was required to study it thoroughly, including in the capital. The Russian Federation raised deep concerns about the proceedings over the previous few days, including that the deadlines were mostly self imposed and the … Continued

Turkey, 4 March 2023: Plenary

Turkey questioned whether all portions of the text had been finalized, citing Article 48, paragraph 6 which Turkey had not yet seen a final version of, and asked if all changes were made.

Vice President, 3 March 2023: Plenary

Plenary was chaired by the Vice President as the President is engaged in a number of other activities. The Vice President invited the Facilitators of EIAs, CBTT and Cross Cutting to report back on informal-informals sessions. The Vice President noted that Presidents Consultations had been ongoing, working in a small group format to arrive at … Continued

3 March 2023

Palau (PSIDS), 3 March 2023: Plenary

Palau took the floor on behalf of the 14 PSIDS, large ocean States that cover over 20 million square km of ocean. PSIDS came here to work, not talk. This being the final day in this room of tired but dedicated negotiators, PSIDS has a few things they really need to say. The Pacific has … Continued

Facilitator, 3 March 2023: Plenary Report Back on Cross Cutting

The Facilitator reported back on informal-informals on cross cutting for Preamble, with delegations making proposals to list the impacts of climate change and include plastic pollution in the text recognising the need to address biodiversity loss and degradation. There was strong support for a suggestion to refer to “humankind” rather than “mankind” with only one … Continued

Facilitator, 3 March 2023: Plenary Report Back on CBTT

Reporting on the CBTT informal-informals held on 2 March 2023, the Facilitator noted the constructive spirit and flexibility demonstrated by all delegations which allowed landing zones to be reached on most outstanding issues. Delegations finalised text around the objectives of CBTT in Article 42 and in Article 43 landed on the phrase “Indigenous peoples and … Continued

Facilitator, 3 March 2023: Plenary Report Back on EIAs

A reading of all of Part 4 on EIAs was completed during informal-informals on 2 March 2023 and delegations made great progress on cleaning up the text. Only one major issue remains concerning decision making and who should decide if an activity can proceed after an EIA has been conducted. Also linked to this is … Continued

President, 2 March 2023: Plenary

The President welcomed delegations and observers  and flagged that she hoped everyone is gearing up for the “marathon” to get things finalised by the end of the meeting. Reporting on the President’s Consultations held on 1 March 2023, which continued on MGRs as well as the relationship with Finance, the President had suggested text for … Continued

2 March 2023

Nepal, 2 March 2023: Plenary

Nepal raised that the listing of countries as reflected in the draft text has not adequately and accurately accommodated the special needs, interests and challenges of land-locked developing countries (LLDCs) and least developed countries (LDCs). The BBNJ Treaty in its current draft version does not contain a specific provision granting rights, duties or obligation to … Continued

Nicaragua, 2 March 2023: Plenary

Nicaragua took the floor to point out that they have called on various working groups to ensure that the Conference frames its work within the mandate established in resolution 72/249 which states that, the Conference will address the topics identified in the package agreed in 2011, namely the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological … Continued

Bangladesh, 2 March 2023: Plenary

Bangladesh made an intervention drawing attention to Article 5 which states that there is a principle of common heritage on mankind guiding the Area, Article 136 common heritage of mankind. And now the freedom of the high seas has been included, which has nothing to do with the main aim of the Convention, that is … Continued

EU, 2 March 2023: Plenary

The EU took to the floor and began by expressing their willingness to talk and show some movement to help finalize the Treaty. The EU understands  how crucial monetary benefit sharing is and feels we are almost there. At Our Ocean in Panama the EU committed 816.5 million euros to actions for 2023 – one … Continued

Facilitator, 2 March 2023: Plenary Report Back on Cross Cutting

The Facilitator reported that during the informal-informals on Cross Cutting, Institutional Arrangements held on 1 March 2023, significant progress was made towards finalizing provisions. On Article 48 bis on Transparency, the text is now clean. Continuing on from the work done in the small working group on Article 49 (Scientific and Technical Body) there was … Continued

Facilitator, 2 March 2023: Plenary Report Back on CBTT

CBTT informal-informals on 1 March 2023 revised proposals on Article 44 (Modalities for capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology) and Article 45 (Additional modalities for the transfer of marine technology) and were able to lift brackets on some paragraphs and move further towards common approach on others. On the first paragraph of Article 44, regarding … Continued

Facilitator, 2 March 2023: Plenary Report Back on EIAs

Informal-informals on EIAs completed a full review of Part 4 of the draft agreement. Article 34 (publication notification and consultation) was discussed, specifically references to high seas pockets and adjacent coastal states in context of public notification, and significantly redrafted to improve clarity. The provision now distinguishes states from other stakeholders and clarifies on consultation … Continued

Facilitator, 2 March 2023: Plenary Report Back on ABMTs

During informal-informals on ABMTs on 1 March 2023, delegations worked through the whole of Part 3 of the draft text to try and clear remaining text and spend more time focusing on some of the complex issues. Discussions began with focus on the MPA definition (Article 1 paragraph 12) , and there was support for … Continued

Statement on behalf of the UN Secretary General, 1 March 2023: Plenary

The Secretary-General of the BBNJ Conference read out a statement on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. “Our ocean has been under pressure for decades, we can no longer ignore the ocean emergency. The impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are being keenly felt around the globe, affecting our environment, our … Continued

1 March 2023