Note to Correspondents
SPECIAL EVENTS ON 9-10 DECEMBER TO FOCUS ON LAW OF THE SEA
Special events in connection with the twentieth anniversary of the opening for signature of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will take place at United Nations Headquarters on 9 and 10 December.
On 9 December, scientific presentations in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium will focus on new discoveries in the oceans. Prof. Kim Juniper, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Quebec, Canada, will speak at 1:30 p.m. on “Hydrothermal vent ecosystems”. Dr. Peter A. Rona, Professor of Geological and Marine and Coastal Science, Rutgers University, United States, will speak on “Latest Developments on marine minerals”.
Two informal panels on “The Dynamism of the Convention: Challenges for the Present and Solutions for the Future” will run in parallel in the Economic and Social Council and Trusteeship Council Chambers, from 3 to 6:00 p.m.
At 6:00 p.m., Dr. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, former President of Malta, will open an exhibition on the Convention on the Law of the Sea in the General Assembly Visitors’ Entrance.
On Tuesday, 10 December, a treaty event will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the West Foyer, adjacent to the General Assembly Hall, in the event that States, responding to the call for universal participation, are in a position to deposit their instruments of ratification or accession to the Convention and to the Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the Convention.
States that may wish to do so will also be able to deposit their charts showing the outer limits of the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone, the continental shelf, and/or lists of geographical coordinates of points specifying the respective geodetic datum.
A side event in theDag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium from 1 to 2:45 p.m. will feature the Discovery Channel/BBC documentary “The Blue Planet: Seas of Life”.
The events are in conjunction with the General Assembly’s two days of plenary meetings commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the opening for signature of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. General Assembly President Jan Kavan will open the commemorations on Monday, 9 December at 10 a.m. in the General Assembly Hall, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivering the opening statement.
The “Constitution of the Oceans” was opened for signature in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 10 December 1982. As of 4 December, the Convention had 137 States parties plus the European Union, and 157 signatories.
Journalists without United Nations credentials who wish to attend the events should fax a letter of assignment to (212) 963-4642, and follow-up with a call to the United Nations Media Accreditation Unit at (212) 963-7164 or 963-6934.
For information, please visit http://un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_20 years.htm or contact: Ellen McGuffie at the Department of Public Information at (212) 963-0499, [email protected], or Edoardo Bellando at (212) 963-8275, [email protected].
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