SEA/1526

PRESIDENT REPORTS ON PROGRESS TOWARDS SELECTION OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

KINGSTON, 12 August -- Substantial progress had been made in negotiations on the selection of the Finance Committee, the President of the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority, Hasjim Djalal (Indonesia), said this afternoon. He was reporting to the Assembly on his ongoing consultations with the Chairmen of various regional groups in an effort to achieve an agreement on the Committee's composition.

The Assembly has been holding intensive consultations on the establishment of the Finance Committee since the beginning of the current session, which began on 5 August, in an attempt to balance the representation on the Committee. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as the Agreement on the implementation of Part XI of the Convention, membership in the Committee should reflect representation of the largest financial contributors, representatives of special interests, as well as the principle of equitable geographical representation.

The Finance Committee, though one of many subsidiary organs of the Assembly and the Council, will exercise great influence on the financial and administrative activities of the Authority in view of the functions assigned to it in the Agreement on Part XI. Those functions include the requirement that all budgetary matters be brought before the Committee for its review and recommendation before they can be taken up by the Council and the Assembly.

A total of 16 candidates have been put forward for the 15 seats on the Committee. Reporting on his consultations with the various regional groups, Mr. Djalal said that he sensed a general understanding that the Committee should be established by tomorrow. However, some delegations needed national time to consult with their governments. He intended to call a meeting of the Assembly tomorrow at noon, at which time he expected that it would be in a position to establish the Committee.

Mr. Djalal also reported on progress made in the selection of a President for the Council. Since its establishment, Mr. Djalal has been acting as President pro tem, pending agreement on the election of a President.

- 2 - Press Release SEA/1526 13 August 1996

Candidates for the post have been put forward by the Western European and Other States, as well as by the Latin American and Caribbean Group.

Though he still hoped to elect a President of the Council by consensus, Mr. Djalal said he had not precluded the possibility of holding an indicative vote.

Finally, Mr. Djalal said he had sensed the frustration among members of the Assembly about the length of time that had been spent in electing the various candidates and filling the membership of bodies of the Authority. In order to avoid those delays in future years, he had made an informal proposal to the Chairmen of the regional groups on a system of regional rotation for the various elective posts for at least the next five years. Should the proposal be adopted, the Assembly would operate under a certain sense of predictability, knowing in advance the group that would nominate a candidate for a particular post.

In general, the Convention calls for equitable geographical distribution on all the bodies of the Authority. However, the Convention also calls for nomination of persons with recognized competence in their fields.

The Authority set up by the Convention on the Law of the Sea consists of two major organs -- the Assembly and the Council. Membership of the Assembly includes all parties to the Convention, as well as those States which have agreed to the provisional application of the 1994 Agreement on the implementation of the deep seabed mining provisions of the Convention. The Council is made up of 36 members elected by the Assembly.

* *** *

United Nations