PHILIPPINE STATEMENT

Commemoration of the 20^th Anniversary of

the International Seabed Authority

22 July 2014, Kingston, Jamaica

Thank you, Mr President.

At the outset, my delegation associates itself with the statement delivered by Japan on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Group.

I have asked for the floor to briefly speak in my national capacity.

We wish to thank the Jamaican Government and people led by the Most Honorable Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, for their sustained global leadership on the rule of law, specifically the law of the sea. It goes without saying that without their leadership, we would not be here today.  

We also wish to pay tribute to our founding fathers and mothers of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, led by Arvid Pardo, for bequeathing to us this “constitution for the oceans and the seas” that is guiding us towards the attainment of a just and comprehensive rule for the world’s oceans and its resources. 

We are lucky that some of them are still with us today – Tommy Koh, Satya Nandan, Jose Luis Jesus, and Hasjim Djalal. Their collective achievement, an  achievement that we share to this day, continue to inspire the institutions created by the Convention, not the least of which is the International Seabed Authority under Secretary-General Nii Allotey Odunton.

Mr President, on 10 December 2012, we commemorated the 30^th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Convention in Montego Bay on the other side of this island nation. On that happy occasion, we adopted a commemorative declaration recalling the universal and unified character of the Convention, and that the Convention sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out. 

On 16 November this year, we will celebrate the 20^th anniversary when the Convention actually entered into force, thus giving birth to the Authority.

The Convention is key to ensuring global and regional peace, cooperation and stability, in the just and sustainable use of marine natural resources, including those of the deep seabed. As such, the Convention has never been more important for the world, and certainly for developing countries like the Philippines.

Then, as now, we affirmed UNCLOS as the international law governing the rights and obligations of States Parties – big as well as small, rich or poor – in their sustainable use of the world’s oceans and its resources, both within their sovereignty or sovereign rights and those which are the common heritage of mankind.

Then, as now, UNCLOS provides us with a viable mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes to resolve competing claims that could undermine our peace and prosperity. 

Mr President, in this day and age, the sea should no longer be a source of conflict, but of respect and of cooperation.

In our march towards universality, we reiterate our call for all States who have not done so to ratify UNCLOS and contribute to its universality. In this regard, we welcome Niger for becoming the latest State Party to UNCLOS, bringing our number to 166.

As we renew the mandate this week of the Council of the Authority for the next four years, may we continue to be guided by the rule of law that UNCLOS enshrines.

In the international seabed regime, this is specifically embodied in the common heritage principle, and no State must be allowed to curtail the interests of mankind as a whole by claiming for itself an area which could legitimately be an international seabed.

Thank you, Mr President.