Fifteenth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea
(ICP-15) - “The role of seafood in global food security”

The fifteenth meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (Consultative Process or ICP-15) convened from 27-30 May 2014 at UN Headquarters in New York. The meeting brought together representatives of 80 governments, 15 intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions to examine this year’s topic: the role of seafood in global food security.

On Tuesday, there was a general exchange of views in plenary, followed by two segments of a panel discussion on “Understanding global food security and the current role of seafood therein” and “The role of seafood in global food security in the context of the three pillars of sustainable development.” On Wednesday the segment on “The role of seafood in global food security in the context of the three pillars of sustainable development” continued, and was followed by a segment on “Opportunities for, and challenges to, the future role of seafood in global food security.” On Thursday, delegates convened in plenary to discuss the following: inter-agency cooperation and coordination; process for the selection of topics and panelists so as to facilitate the work of the General Assembly; and issues that could benefit from attention in the future work of the General Assembly on oceans and the law of the sea. The Co-Chairs, Amb. Don MacKay (New Zealand) and Amb. Milan Jaya Nyamrajsingh Meetarbhan (Mauritius), distributed a Co-Chairs’ summary of discussions on Friday morning. After all the paragraphs of the report had been reviewed, Co-Chair MacKay gaveled the meeting to a close at 11:47 am.

This briefing note summarizes the discussions and is organized according to the agenda.