Major benefits gained from ISA - PM Portia Simpson Miller

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has asserted that since the establishment of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) 20 years ago, member countries have gained “significant scientific and technological insight” into the value of the seas and oceans and their resources, to their welfare and existence.

In that regard, the Prime Minister said on Tuesday that the development and adoption of the Convention on the Law of the Sea represents one of the UN’s most significant accomplishments in member countries’ quest “for a just and equitable regime for ocean governance and the sustainable development of our oceans and seas.”

The Prime Minister was addressing a Special Session to mark the 20^th anniversary of the establishment of the ISA, at the Jamaica Conference Centre, Downtown Kingston. She recalled that the Convention was “born out of a desire to settle, in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation, all issues relating to the law of the sea.”

Jamaica and the ISA

Concerning Jamaica's role in the ISA, Mrs. Simpson Miller said the nation was particularly proud to be a part of the 20^th commemorative anniversary.

"When the negotiations at the party level of the Convention, covering deep seabed mining, were viewed as untenable and too ‘optimistic,’ Jamaica was among that group of keenly interested developing countries at the time (working) towards its adoption,” she said.

Pointing to the 166-member countries that have accepted the Convention as their guide for marine engagements, Mrs. Simpson Miller described the overall undertaking as a “remarkable feat,” adding that “we (Jamaica) were understandably humbled as a relatively young nation, to (have played) such an active role in the creative process of legislation.”

Regarding Jamaica's selection to host the headquarters of the ISA, she said this had been a source of great "delight."

The International Seabed Authority, she said, "is the first and only example of a UN institution with an explicit mandate covering the oceans and seabed. This makes the ISA a ‘radical’ establishment that is as vital today, as it was 20 years ago."

Reflection
The Prime Minister said the 20^th Session presents an “ideal occasion” to reflect on, and review the contributions of the ISA, as well as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to the evolution, re-affirmation and growth of the framework governing marine-related activities.

She also highlighted the need examine how institutions such as the ISA "can best help us face existing and emerging challenges, as we aim for sustainable growth and development. Sound management and governance of the mineral resources of the seabed, the sharing of the benefits to be derived from the mining of those minerals, the sustainability of fishery resources, and the development of new techniques for underwater exploration for oil resources and pollution control, are critical issues that we must continue to address."

Delegates from the ISA’s 166-member countries are currently in the island for three weeks of meetings at the organization’s annual General Assembly, being held at the conference centre.

Key matters at this year’s meeting include: elections to fill vacancies on the ISA Council; adoption of the Authority’s budget; and consideration of the Secretary-General’s annual report. 

The Session, which got underway on July 7, is scheduled to conclude on July 25.

Establishment of the Authority, the Secretariat of which is based in Kingston, came 12 years after members of the United Nations (UN) signed the Convention on the Law of the Sea.

This Convention articulates governance structures pertaining to marine resources in oceans and seas, globally.