Statement - International Seabed Authority

one-week meeting of the Legal and Technical Commission. I would remind member
States, nevertheless, that there is no room for complacency and I urge them to ensure
that they are represented at the meetings of the Authority in Kingston, especially as
there are a number of important decisions to be taken at the next session.
Mr. President,
Last year, I had informed this Assembly of the establishment by the Authority of
its Endowment Fund for the promotion of marine scientific research. Since last year,
the necessary administrative and practical arrangements have been put in place to
enable the Fund to begin its operations. In addition, the Secretariat has worked
throughout the year to establish partnerships with a number of leading scientific and
technical institutions around the world which are interested in collaborating with the
Authority to provide training opportunities for personnel from developing countries.
The practical arrangements that have been made include the appointment of a
panel of experts to advise the Secretary-General on applications for assistance from the
Fund. This panel met recently for the first time and it gives me great pleasure to report
that, as a result, the Authority will shortly be announcing the opening of applications for
the first opportunities, in the form of fellowships, to be supported by the Fund. I wish to
encourage qualified scientists from developing countries to apply for these opportunities
in due course.
I also wish to once again encourage member States and others to contribute to
the Fund. In this regard, I wish to acknowledge with gratitude the Governments of
Mexico and the United Kingdom for making contributions to the Fund in 2008.
Mr. President,
As many of you will be aware, this is the last occasion upon which I shall address
the Assembly in my capacity as Secretary-General of the Authority. My term of office
comes to an end on 31 December. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate
my successor, Mr. Nii Allotey Odunton, of Ghana, on his election as the next Secretary-
General of the Authority and to wish him well. I also wish to express my sincere
appreciation to member States for the support they have given to me during my term of
office and to thank you all for placing your trust in me. It has been a privilege to serve
the international community and to contribute towards the establishment of the Authority
as one of the key institutions created by the Convention.
Over the past 35 years, since the beginning of the Third UN Conference, I have
had the extraordinary privilege to have been associated with most of the developments
in the law of the sea. A number of milestones stand out. In the early days, the long and
painstaking process of weaving together the complex and multifaceted provisions of the
Convention into a coherent whole in order to achieve a broad agreement. Then the
adoption of the Convention in 1982. After 1982, I also witnessed the work of the
Preparatory Commission in my capacity as the Under Secretary-General for Ocean
3