Selected Decisions and Documents of the Eleventh Session

ISBA/11/A/4
and Corr.1
Report of the Secretary-General of the International
Seabed Authority under article 166, paragraph 4, of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Date: 13 July 2005
I. INTRODUCTION
1. The present report of the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority is
submitted to the Assembly of the Authority under article 166, paragraph 4, of the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“the Convention”). It provides an account of the work of
the Authority since the tenth session as well as a discussion of current issues relevant to the work of
the Authority and certain aspects of the 2005-2007 work programme of the Authority.
II.
MEMBERSHIP OF THE AUTHORITY
2. In accordance with article 156, paragraph 2, of the Convention, all States parties to the
Convention are ipso facto members of the Authority. As at 30 June 2005, 147 States and the
European Community were parties to the Convention and therefore members of the Authority. 1
3. The Convention and the Agreement relating to the implementation of part XI of the
Convention (“the 1994 Agreement”) adopted on 28 July 1994 by the General Assembly of the
United Nations 2 together contain the regime for the administration of the deep seabed and its
resources. As at 30 June 2005, the following 27 members of the Authority who became parties to the
Convention prior to the adoption of the 1994 Agreement have not yet become parties to the 1994
Agreement: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cape Verde,
the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, the Gambia,
Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Iraq, Mali, the Marshall Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, the Sudan, Uruguay, Viet Nam
and Yemen. As requested by the Assembly, each year since 1998, the Secretary-General has written
to all members listed above urging them to consider becoming parties to the 1994 Agreement. This
is an important matter for these States, as their becoming parties to the 1994 Agreement would put
all members of the Authority in the same position with respect to the current regime for the deep
seabed and its resources, which governs the activities of the Authority.
III.
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVES TO THE AUTHORITY
4. As at 30 June 2005, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba,
France, Gabon, Germany, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, South
Africa and Trinidad and Tobago had established permanent missions to the Authority.
IV.
SESSIONS OF THE AUTHORITY
A. The tenth regular annual session
5. The tenth session of the Authority was held from 24 May to 4 June 2004. Mr. Dennis
Francis (Trinidad and Tobago) was elected President of the Assembly for the tenth session. Mr.
Baïdy Diène (Senegal) was elected President of the Council.
6. The work of the Assembly during the tenth session included a debate on the annual report
of the Secretary-General, the adoption of the budget of the Authority for the financial period 2005-
2006, the election of one half of the members 3 of the 36-member Council in accordance with article
1