Mr President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Good day to all of you in attendance in this room and virtually.

It is with an immense pleasure that I am reporting on the work that the Council was able to achieve during the two parts of the twenty-sixth session. I also wish to pay tribute to the Acting President Dr Brown who assumed presidency in 2020 until my election.

At its meeting in February 2020, the Council appointed a Facilitator to hold consultations on a mechanism for the elections of the Legal and Technical Commission. The Council also exchanged views on several parts of the Draft Regulations (see ISBA/26/C/13).and adopted a decision on the establishment and modalities of functioning of three informal working groups.

Subsequently, the Council was unable to meet in person and was forced to adopt critical time sensitive issues through silence procedure, including the approval of the application for approval of a plan of work for exploration of polymetallic nodules submitted by Blue Minerals Jamaica Ltd., sponsored by the Government of Jamaica. In this connection, I wish to express the efforts by all delegations and the spirit of cooperation which has enabled the Council to overcome obstacles under these exceptional circumstances.

Mr President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

At its meeting held last week, the Council was adopted 11 decisions.

The Council adopted a decision taking note of its decisions adopted through silence procedure (ISBA/26/C/48, unedited advanced text).

On the recommendation of the Legal and Technical Commission, the Council approved extensions of contracts for exploration of polymetallic nodules for Interoceanmetal Joint Organization, JSC Yuzhmorgeologiya, the Government of the Republic of Korea, Deep Ocean Resources Development Co. Ltd., China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association, the Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Council also took note of the reports on the status of contracts for exploration and periodic reviews as well as relinquishments of exploration areas by Global Sea Mineral Resources NV, by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation under the contract for exploration for polymetallic sulphides and by China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association under its contract for exploration for polymetallic sulphides.

Another achievement was the decision of the Council on the review of the environmental management plan for the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in order to enhance the effectiveness of the network of areas of particular environmental interest, by approving 4 new APEIs. N

With respect to the development of regional environmental management plans in other priority regions identified by the Council, the Council noted the progress made in the development of such plans for the Area of northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Northwest Pacific, as well as the need to initiate the development of a REMP for the Indian Ocean triple junction ridge and nodule-bearing province.  Delegations recalled the decision of the Council concerning a standardized approach for the development, approval and review of REMPs in the Area (ISBA/26/C/10) and requested that the Commission make further progress in implementing this decision.

Finally, the Council also adopted a decision on the work of the Commission, based on the various reports presented by its Chairs (see ISBA/26/C/57, unedited advanced text).

Several delegations made comments on the templates for the periodic review and annual reports of activities which facilitate the review process and on the increasing transparency of contracts with the release of public templates by most Contractors. The Council also commended Contractors for their efforts to implement their programme of activities, including their training programmes, despite the challenges. The Council also took note of a report on the status of national legislation related to deep seabed mining.

The Council further took note of the recommendation of the Commission regarding the establishment of the Economic Planning Commission (‘EPC’) and requested the Secretary-General to prepare a report on this matter for consideration of the Council in 2022.

In addition, the Council took note of two addenda to the Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the decision of the Council in 2019 relating to the reports of the Chair of the Commission.

Mr President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

With respect to the issues of elections of members of the Legal and Technical Commission, the Facilitator Mr Vladislav Kurbatskiy reported on his consultations to facilitate the emergence of a consensus before the next election in 2022.  The Council expressed its appreciation for the efforts made by the Facilitator. Following an exchange of views indicating that further consultation was needed, the Facilitator held four rounds of consultations. Despite positive involvement by all delegations through several round of informal consultations, no compromise could be reached, and the Council requested the Facilitator to hold further consultations to facilitate the emergence of a consensus on this matter prior to the next election of members of the Commission in 2022.

The Council also adopted a decision on financial and budgetary matters in the form of recommendation to the Assembly.

In addition, the Council expressed its appreciation for the comprehensive report by the Committee on the main elements involved in the formulation of rules, regulations and procedures on the equitable sharing of financial and other economic benefits derived from activities in the Area. It was emphasized that this topic was the core of the goals of the Authority and that what was at stake, was not a discussion on mere financial aspects, but the design of an appropriate mechanism on a non-discriminatory basis (article 140, paragraph 2 of the Convention).

Several delegations made comments of a preliminary nature on proposed options for distribution of benefits derived from activities in the Area. Considering that the conduct of activities is to benefit current and future generations and that this calls for intergenerational solidarity, some delegations questioned whether the direct distribution of funds would be the best option. As an alternative, several delegations expressed general support for considering the establishment of a seabed sustainability fund as a proper tool to avoid the complexities that equitable sharing formulas could entail. Delegations also commented on the suggested purposes for the fund, i.e. to advance marine scientific research with a view to promote the increased knowledge, sustainable use of the resources of the ocean and protection and preservation of biodiversity, for the enhancement of the available technology for the effective protection of the marine environment and for capacity building and transfer of technology.

Some delegations stressed that this seabed sustainability fund should be kept distinct from the environmental compensation fund which the 2011 Advisory Opinion by the Seabed Dispute Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea suggested to create, and which has completely different purposes. 

Views were also expressed as to whether future revenues from exploitation activities would be able to compensate increases in the administrative budget of the Authority, while at the same time fulfilling their goal of contributing to a proper sharing of benefits from the exploitation activities in the Area. The view was expressed that a more detailed study by the Committee would be welcome. Finally, as for the criteria for access to future economic assistance fund provided for under article 151 of the Convention, several delegations reiterated that only funds received from contractors and voluntary contributions should be used to such end.

Mr President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

The Council expressed its appreciation for the two reports presented by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Enterprise and took note of them with the update concerning the impossibility for the Government of Poland to proceed further with the proposal for joint venture arrangements.

In addition, the Council the Council took into account the Commission’s recommendation on the appointment of an interim director general for the Enterprise to give effect to the step-by-step approach on the operationalization of the Enterprise, as provided for in the 1994 Agreement. The Council agreed to undertake further consultations at the next in person meeting of the Council. Furthermore, the Council extended the mandate of the Special Representative until the end of the twenty-seventh session (see ISBA/26/C/57).

Mr President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

The Council took note of the report of the Secretary-General on the process of development of the draft regulations for exploitation in the Area and recognized the considerable amount of work ahead qualifying the task as daunting, but necessary in light of the mandate of the Authority to regulate exploitation of mineral resources and develop a robust and comprehensive regulatory framework. It was noted that it was necessary to accelerate the work on the Draft Regulations but without compromising the quality of the text and that “nothing is agreed, until everything is agreed”. Several commented on the importance of a robust science-based regulatory framework and to ensure the protection of the marine environment.

The proposed roadmap was revised to: (i) include precise dates; (ii) a tentative agenda; and (iii) detail the modalities of the informal working groups established by the Council’s decision in ISBA/26/C/11 to accommodate intersessional work, including online, as appropriate. The roadmap will be reviewed at the end of the last Council meeting of 2022 to take stock of advances achieved in the elaboration of the regulatory framework for exploitation including the Standards and Guidelines and to consider possible scenarios, as foreseen in section 1, paragraph 15 of the Annex to the 1994 Agreement.

The roadmap will be in the annex to my written statement.

Lastly, the Council took note and approved the memorandum of understanding between the Indian Ocean Rim Association and the Authority and took note of the update on the implementation of the 2019-2023 strategic plan and high-level action plan of the Authority.

Thank you for your attention.