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Mr. President,
I have the honour to make this statement on behalf of the Western European and Other States Group. One member state is however not associated with the statement.
Mr. President,
At the outset let me join H.E. Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici in paying tribute to the late Ambassador Arvid Pardo, an almost legendary personality and founding father of ideas leading up to the Third United nations Conference of the Law of the Sea and the Convention, of which we today celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its opening for signature. Furthermore, let me pay tribute to the late Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe of Sri Lanka who served as President of the Conference from its first to its ninth session. Let me also join others to convey our thanks to the distinguished Ambassador Tommy Koh of Singapore, who is present at this commemoration and whose outstanding skills and guidance as President of the Conference were crucial for the coming into being of the Convention. Let me also convey my gratitude to the UN secretariat, in particular the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, for their dedicated efforts throughout the years, whose expertise and competence have been manifested in various meetings they have organised and in studies and reports they have produced.
Mr. President,
This is a historic moment. Tomorrow is the twentieth anniversary of the opening of signature of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, one of the greatest achievements in international legal cooperation of the last century. At the commemoration ten years ago, the Convention had not yet entered into force and, consequently, its organs had not yet been established. The situation today is very different. The Law of the Sea Convention entered into force on 16 November 1994 and now more than 130 States are parties to the Convention. The organs provided for in the Convention are now established and well in function. There is the International Seabed Authority (ISBA), which is successfully preparing the ground for future activities in the Area. There is the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea at Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany, which has begun to adjudicate disputes within the domain of the Law of the Sea. There is the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf which has now received its first application, thus beginning its complicated work aiming at the final determination of the outer limits of the continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines. It is highly satisfactory that the whole system created through the Law of the Sea Convention now is up and running.
Mr. President,
The adoption in 1982 of the Law of the Sea Convention stands out as a major legal and political achievement for the international community. In important matters the Convention codified rules and principles already existing but it also implied considerable progressive development of international law. The Convention has since its adoption excercised a dominant influence on the conduct of States in maritime matters and is a primary source of the international Law of the Sea. The Convention forms the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out and is of fundamental importance for the maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security as well as for the sustainable development of the oceans and seas.
Thank you, Mr. President
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