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Hafið og hafréttarmál

Í umræðum 7. desember 2006 í allsherjarþingi Sameinuðu þjóðanna um málefni hafsins og hafréttarmál flutti Hjálmar W. Hannesson, sendiherra og fastafulltrúi Íslands hjá Sameinuðu þjóðunum, meðfylgjandi ræðu fyrir Íslands hönd. Fjallaði hann m.a. um hafréttarsamning Sameinuðu þjóðanna, Landgrunnsnefndina og framlög Íslands til hennar, úthafsveiðisamninginn og endurskoðunarráðstefnu hans, hið óformlega samráðsferli um málefni hafsins og hafréttarmál, vistkerfi hafsins og þær hættur sem að því steðja. Ennfremur fjallaði fastafulltrúi um mengun frá landstöðvum, reglulegt ferli til að meta ástand umhverfis hafsins, sjóræningjaveiðar, áhrif fiskveiða á viðkvæm vistkerfi hafsins og aðgerðir til verndar slíkum svæðum. Loks lýsti fastafulltrúi yfir áframhaldandi stuðningi Íslands við starf Sameinuðu þjóðanna að vernd viðkvæmra vistkerfa hafsins og líffræðilegs fjölbreytileika og vinnu að framgangi sjálfbærra nýtingu lífrænna auðlinda hafsins.




I would like at the outset to thank the Secretariat, in particular the able staff of DOALOS, for its comprehensive reports on oceans and the law of the sea and on sustainable fisheries and acknowledge the professional manner in which the two coordinators, Mr. Carlos Duarte of Brazil and Ms. Holly R. Koehler of the United States, conducted the informal consultations on the draft resolutions before us.

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The Convention on the Law of the Sea provides the legal framework for all our deliberations on the oceans and the law of the sea. Iceland welcomes recent ratifications of the Convention by Belarus, Niue and Montenegro and urges states that have not ratified the Convention to do so. By ratifying and implementing the Convention, one of the greatest achievements in the history of the United Nations, the international community sustains and promotes a number of its most cherished goals. Every effort must be made to utilize existing instruments to the full before other options, including possible new implementation agreements under the Convention, are seriously considered.

The three institutions established under the Law of the Sea Convention are functioning well and progress is being made in the work of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The Commission is currently considering five submissions regarding the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, and a number of coastal states, including Iceland, have advised of their intention to make submissions in the near future.

As the final date for making submissions to the Commission, 13 May 2009, approaches, the workload of the Commission is anticipated to increase, placing additional demands on its members and on the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea. Iceland supports the decision of the sixteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention to address, as a matter of priority, issues related to the workload of the Commission and funding for its members attending the sessions of the Commission and the meetings of the sub commissions. We also support the call by the Meeting to strengthen the Division, serving as the secretariat of the Commission, for the purpose of enhancing its technical support for the Commission. Furthermore, we support the actions recommended in chapter VII of the draft omnibus resolution where states are, inter alia, encouraged to make contributions to the two voluntary trust funds in this field.

In this context, it gives me pleasure to inform the General Assembly of the decision by the Government of Iceland to make an additional contribution of $100,000 to the voluntary trust fund to facilitate the preparation of submissions to the Commission by developing states, in particular the least developed states and small island developing states, and compliance with article 76 of the Convention. Furthermore, Iceland has decided to make an additional contribution of $100,000 to the voluntary trust fund to defray the cost of participation of the members of the Commission from developing states in the meetings of the Commission.

* * *

A successful Review Conference on the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement was concluded in New York last May. The recommendations of the Conference, aiming to strengthen the substance and methods of implementation of the provisions of the Agreement, were adopted by consensus by all participating states, both parties and non-parties. Iceland welcomes in particular the general reaffirmation by the Review Conference of the regional approach to high seas fisheries management.

The effectiveness of the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement depends in large part on its wide ratification and implementation. We welcome ratifications of the Agreement this year by Poland, Slovenia, Estonia, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago, and Niue, and note that many other states have served notice of their intention to ratify the Agreement in the near future.

* * *

The world’s marine ecosystems are coming under increasing strain from different sources, including marine pollution, over fishing, destructive fishing practices and climate change. While recognizing these and other challenges to the health of our oceans, we need to refrain from indiscriminate generalizations that fail to take account of regional and local circumstances. At the same time, more effort should be devoted to scientific assessments and the need to ensure that management policies are always informed by the best available scientific information.

In this connection, Iceland values in particular the recently initiated assessment of assessments, designed as a preparatory stage towards the setting up of a regular process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socio-economic aspects.

Marine pollution from land-based activities continues to be of considerable concern in most coastal zones in the world. The Intergovernmental Review of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, held in Bejing last October, confirmed that despite positive developments in some areas of the combat against marine pollution, general trends, especially with regard to eutrophication and physical degradation, are continuing in the wrong direction.

The Bejing Declaration, adopted by ministers and heads of delegations at the Intergovernmental Review, stressed the need for governments to strengthen efforts to develop and implement national and regional programmes of action for the protection of the marine environment from land-based activities. It was furthermore recognised that implementing the global programme of action would contribute substantially to internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration and those highlighted in Agenda 21, the Barbados Programme of Action, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the Mauritius Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

Iceland fully endorses the Global Programme of Action as a means to ensure the sustainability of the world’s oceans and would like to urge all governments and International Financial Institutions to put more emphasis on implementation of the programme.

Over the past few years, member states have been able to draw on the open-ended informal consultative process on oceans and the law of the sea to focus attention on some of the main challenges to the marine environment. At the seventh meeting of the consultative process last June, United Nations member states decided for the first time to consider a set of agreed consensual elements relating to ecosystem approaches and oceans. This outcome constitutes a good basis to build on as we tackle the manifold risks and dangers confronting our marine ecosystems.

* * *

In Iceland’s view, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) should be included on a short list of priority issues in this regard. The General Assembly has repeatedly urged states to combat IUU fishing and the current draft fisheries resolution contains many important recommendations to that end. For example, the need for enhanced port state controls to combat IUU fishing is recognized and states are urged to cooperate at the regional level to adopt all necessary port measures. In that context, states are encouraged to initiate, as soon as possible, a process within the FAO to develop, as appropriate, a legally binding instrument on minimum standards for port state measures, building on the FAO Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat IUU Fishing and the FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU Fishing.

Based on a proposal initially made by Iceland, the draft fisheries resolution furthermore urges states to take effective measures, at the national, regional and global levels, to deter the activities, including IUU fishing, of any vessel which undermines conservation and management measures that have been adopted by regional fisheries management organizations in accordance with international law. Importantly, the measures to be taken in order to deter IUU fishing are not limited to those of flag states.

In Iceland’s view, the development of exemptions from, and limitations to, the general principle of exclusive flag state jurisdiction with respect to fishing vessels on the high seas is paramount if our combat against these illegal and unregulated practices is to succeed. To put an end to such practices, their financial and economic incentives must effectively be removed and adequate enforcement and monitoring measures put in place.

There is growing pressure among the international community to develop the necessary legal basis for meaningful and effective measures in order to eliminate IUU fishing practices. Efforts need also to be made to coordinate the activities of a number of organisations and agencies, including the FAO and the IMO, in meeting this urgent challenge.

Should the combined efforts of the international community not bear the desired fruit, coastal states with substantial interests at stake could be constrained to contemplate taking unilateral action.

* * *

As called for in fisheries resolution 59/25, the General Assembly this fall conducted a review of actions taken by states and regional fisheries management organizations in response to the recommendations contained therein concerning the impacts of fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems. We fully endorse the draft fisheries resolution. It welcomes the important progress made during the last two years by states and regional fisheries management organizations to give effect to these recommendations, including negotiations to establish new regional organizations as needed. In the view of Iceland, the recommendations contained in operative paragraphs 80-91 of the draft fisheries resolution, which reflect the compromise reached on this issue in the informal consultations, are both targeted and meaningful.

Iceland fully shares concerns that have been expressed about the effects of destructive fishing methods on vulnerable marine ecosystems. In this instance also, there is need for more extensive research and scientific advice as to the types of fishing gear used, on a case by case basis.

We also agree that where it can be demonstrated that fishing practices cause damage to biological diversity and vulnerable marine ecosystems, in particular seamounts, hydrothermal vents and cold water corals, further options in the form of restrictions on such practices could be considered, in case other means have been exhausted or proven inadequate. Consistent with the spirit of the actions urged in the present draft fisheries resolution, The North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, NEAFC, has adopted fishing gear restrictions in designated areas, offering a good example of the contribution of regional fisheries management organizations in tackling the problem of destructive fishing practices.

Such measures can though and should only be taken by flag states, coastal states or regional fisheries management organizations and within the framework of the Convention of the Law of the Sea.

We welcome the decision in the draft fisheries resolution to conduct a review of actions taken by states and regional fisheries management organizations in response to these recommendations during the 64th session of the General Assembly in 2009, with a view to further recommendations, where necessary

Iceland has for a long time been active in the work of the United Nations on ocean and fisheries issues and has always supported effective means to safeguard vulnerable marine ecosystems in order to halt the loss of biological diversity as indicated in the Johannesburg Plan of Action, and promote the sustainable use of living marine resources. We will continue to work with other nations towards this common goal and spare no effort in our joint endeavours to find an effective and manageable solution to a real and growing danger to the ecosystems of the sea.



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