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Mr President
As the present Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the members who are represented at the United Nations, namely, Australia, Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and my own country, Samoa.
The Pacific Islands Forum covers a region of diverse States – including the least-developed, developing and developed – with varied constitutional arrangements, economic links, population bases, and other interests. Yet as a group, we are collectively blessed with a vast expanse of interlocking ocean spaces and a wealth of marine resources, woven together by our respective exclusive economic zones. In that context, we share a common objective in realising the critical value of the marine resources and environment in our region, and in ensuring, as joint custodians, the sustainable conservation and management of those assets in our neighbourhood.
As we have often stated, developments in oceans affairs and the law of the sea remain of primary importance to us. We consider the annual debate under this agenda item (and its consequent resolutions) as part of an ongoing strengthening of the governance of the oceans. Both resolutions enable the General Assembly, as a collective body, to take stock of the events that have taken place during the course of the year in a variety of fora, both within the UN system and beyond.
In that respect, we note the burgeoning number of issues raised in the context of the two oceans-related resolutions. While we have some concerns about the length of the resolution, we regard the active and lively discussions on those issues as a positive sign that Member States remain committed to pursuing international cooperation through the United Nations for the proper and effective management of the global marine environment and its resources. We commend both coordinators for the effective manner in which they conducted the negotiations as well as the Division of Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) for their able support and organisation.
Mr. President,
Our group has continued to value the primacy of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the constitutional framework of the oceans and seas. It is gratifying to witness the evolution and successful functioning of its subsidiary bodies; especially the work and decisions this year of the Meeting of States Parties, as well as critical work of the International Seabed Authority and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The increasing number of new States Parties to the Convention and its related instruments this year serves as a reminder of the Convention’s relevance, maturity and growing universality. We support all continuing efforts by this organisation to encourage member States to join the Convention and its related agreements.
We continue to strongly support the work and role of the UN Informal Consultative Process. We were pleased to see that once again, the recommendations from UNICPOLOS offered a strong contribution to focus and expedite debate and negotiations under this item. Equally, we were gratified that the recommendations of the UNICPOLOS process did not hamstring this year’s negotiations on the omnibus and fisheries resolutions. We continue to view the Informal Consultative Process as an opportunity for frank discussion on issues of practical import, which can be used to inform and expedite substantive debate during the General Assembly. In our view, the Informal Consultative Process continues to prove its worth as a flexible, interactive and integrated forum on oceans. The Pacific Islands Forum looks forward to re‑endorsement of the mandate of the Consultative Process next year, for a further term. In addition, we are well-satisfied that discussions at the 6th meeting of UNICPOLOS next year will focus on the topic “fisheries and its contribution to sustainable development”.
We also look forward to the substantive work of the interagency coordination mechanism, UN-Oceans, getting underway in the near future. We hope that the operation of this mechanism will draw together the various threads of work of the agencies and institutions involved in oceans issues, and thereby complement the benefits of integration that UNICPOLOS already provides.
Mr. President,
Our group is pleased that the Assistance Fund established under Part VII of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement is now operational. In particular, we recognise the importance to Small Island Developing States of capacity-building to implement both the Convention and the Agreement. The framework established by the Assistance Fund represents a concrete opportunity for Small Island Developing States to that end, and for the advancement of their fisheries aspirations generally. But only if Member States take up the invitation to make voluntary contributions to the Fund. We were pleased, therefore, that renewed priority was given this year to capacity-building and trust funds and fellowships. We hope that this outcome in the context of the omnibus resolution, transfers into generous action by Member States in the coming year.
In terms of regional implementation of the Convention and the Agreement, we are delighted to advise that the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean entered into force on 19 June this year. Since that date, several additional commitments to the Convention have been received and we welcome efforts by other important States towards ratification and accession in the near future. We look forward to the first meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Tuna Commission (WCPTC) established under the regional Convention in December this year, and to ongoing positive and cooperative relationships with all fishing nations in the context of this important regional institution. We continue to urge other distant water fishing nations with a real fisheries interest in our region to work towards becoming a party to this Convention.
We take this opportunity to refer to the Pacific Islands Forum regional oceans policy, which our leaders approved in 2002. Our regional oceans policy elaborates guiding principles that serve as a template for members within our group to develop national ocean policies.
At the Pacific Islands Regional Oceans Forum held in Fiji in February this year, representatives from our countries and oceans experts discussed the key oceans issues confronting us, and worked on developing an implementation process for our regional oceans policy. The result of this work is a Framework for Integrated Strategic Action – in other words, an action plan for integrated implementation of our oceans policy in the region. The Framework was endorsed by Pacific Islands Forum leaders in August this year. We are proud of these achievements, which we believe will ensure sustainable use of the ocean and its resources in our region, by Pacific Island communities and others, into the future.
Our Framework for Strategic Action will be presented at the upcoming January 2005 Mauritius International Meeting to review the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. We look forward to the opportunity that meeting will provide, as well as other future opportunities, to discuss oceans and fisheries issues of critical importance to Small Island Developing States.
Mr. President,
We have followed closely this year’s developments in the two oceans-related resolutions, including and in particular issues relating to bottom-trawling, protection of marine biodiversity and IUU fishing.
Coming from a region that has a high concentration of vulnerable marine ecosystems including coral reefs and underwater seamounts, we are well aware of, and firmly support, the need to take urgent action to prevent and manage the effects of destructive fishing practices including bottom-trawling that has adverse impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems. In that context, we were pleased that all States were able to reach agreement on a package of short-, medium- and longer-term responses to problems caused by these practices. We will be sure to take the necessary action in our own region in this regard, and will welcome further discussion next year of progress around the globe.
We also welcome the decision this year to establish a new Ad Hoc Open-Ended Informal Working Group on marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. There is a clear need to establish a forum where the gamut of issues relating to governance, conservation and management of marine resources and environment beyond national jurisdiction, can be openly and constructively discussed, and where options for a coordinated international response can be developed. It is critical that all States have an equal opportunity to participate in these discussions, given the significance of the subject matter. We certainly plan to endeavour to participate actively and constructively in accordance with our primary interest in oceans and law of the sea matters.
Finally, Pacific Islands Forum members continue to view IUU fishing as one of the greatest threats to the future sustainability of our regional marine resources and environment. In that context, we stand in firm support of the need to take urgent action against these fishing activities, and commit ourselves to work, particularly within the context of our new regional organisation, to do everything possible to rid our region of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. We continue to urge our partners to cooperate with us to achieve that end.
I thank you Mr President.
