Small Island Developing States

On Friday, 21 July, plenary resumed at 3:45 pm. Chair Duarte offered draft recommendations arising from informal bilateral consultations, clarifying that: the elements of the draft text of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) do not reflect consensus; section A includes non-exclusive elements that generated convergence among most delegations; section B highlights some of the main issues on which there is divergence of views; and both sections are for reference purposes because they do not reflect all options discussed and are without prejudice to states’ positions during the negotiations. In addition, the draft included: a recommendation to the UN General Assembly to take a decision, as soon as possible, on the convening of an intergovernmental conference (IGC), under the auspices of the UN, to consider the PrepCom recommendations on the elements and to elaborate the text of an ILBI under the Convention; and an indication that the titles of the two sections be removed (namely, “elements of an ILBI draft text” and “elements requiring most attention towards further progress in the development of an ILBI draft text”) . Plenary was immediately suspended to allow for regional consultations. 7:25 pm: regional consultations are still ongoing 8:59 pm: plenary resumes 9:10 pm: plenary adopts recommendations to UN General Assembly 10:01 pm: Chair Duarte gaveled the meeting to a close The Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis of PrepCom 4 will be available on Monday, 24 July 2017, online at: http://enb.iisd.org/oceans/bbnj/prepcom4/ IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 4th Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292: Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Dais applaudes the conclusion of PrepCom 4 Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, gaveled the meeting to a close at 10:01 pm L-R: Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, in discussion with John Brincat, EU L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Delegates waiting for the resumption of PrepCom 4 Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea (right), in a conversation with delegates from Cameroon L-R: Elizabeth Rodríguez Santiago, American Society of International Law, confers with Stella Bartolini Cavicchi, World Ocean Council Delegates from Iceland reviewing draft text Delegates from the African Group reviewing draft text Delegates from Norway and Iceland consulting Delegates from the African Group consulting Delegates from Canada consulting L-R: Zentaro Naganuma, Japan, with Ma Xinmin, China L-R: Evan Bloom, US, with Zentaro Naganuma, Japan L-R: Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS, with Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, International Seabed Authority (ISA) L-R: Alain Tellier, Canada, with Ma Xinmin, China L-R: Zentaro Naganuma, Japan, with Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway L-R: Alain Tellier, Canada, confers with Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, with Matthías Pálsson, Iceland L-R Maxim Musikhin, Russian Federation and Larisa Chernysheva, Russian Federation, in conversation with Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil (right), in discussions with Evan Bloom, US Duncan Currie, Greenpeace (center), with delegates from the Russian Federation L-R: Tallash Kantai, IISD Reporting Services, in conversation with Matthías Pálsson, Iceland L-R: Tidiani Couma, Joëlle Casanova, and Florian Botto, Monaco Delegates from China Delegates from the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean Delegates from the African Group Participants from the High Seas Alliance

On Thursday, 20 July, in an afternoon plenary, delegates considered a further revised Chair’s text including: a draft recommendation to the General Assembly on the substantive elements of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI), indicating that the structure and elements reflect the outcome of the PrepCom discussions, and are not exclusive and without prejudice to the position of states during the negotiations; a procedural recommendation to the General Assembly to take a decision, as soon as possible, on convening and intergovernmental conference (IGC) under the UN auspices, to consider the PrepCom’s substantive recommendations and to elaborate the ILBI text under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), with a starting date as early as possible; and two sections, one on elements of the draft ILBI text (section A) and the other on elements that require most attention towards further progress in the development of a draft ILBI text (section B). Following a round of comments, Chair Duarte acknowledged that the revised draft did not fully reflect all positions; noted concerns expressed by some delegations and those requesting more time to make a decision; and adjourned the session, expressing willingness to exhaust every effort to arrive at consensus, in line with the PrepCom mandate, and inviting delegates to share suggestions with him. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 4th Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292: Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS John Brincat, EU Lois Young, Belize, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China James Ndirangu Waweru, Kenya Hina Saeed Baig, Pakistan Luke Daunivalu, Fiji, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Juan Carlos Mendoza García, Costa Rica Maxim Musikhin, Russian Federation Rena Lee, Singapore Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea Ryan Fung A Loi, Suriname Ariel Cayanan, the Philippines Evan Bloom, US Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Mohamed Atlassi, Morocco Florian Botto, Monaco Ma Xinmin, China Narayanane Saravanane, India Alain Tellier, Canada EU delegates consulting immediately after the end of the session Delegates from PSIDS consulting Delegates in informal consultations L-R: Elisa Morgera, IISD Reporting Services, in a discussion with John Brincat, EU L-R: Alistair Graham, Australia, in a conversation with Gerardo Irimia, Panama L-R: Susan Whelan, Holy See, in a conversation with Julian Jackson, The Pew Charitable Trusts A delegate looking at IISD web coverage Delegates from India