Statement by H.E. the Hon Robert Hill Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations to the Plenary of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly on Agenda item 77(a) & (b): Oceans and the Law of Sea and Sustainable fisheries
10 December 2007
(As Delivered)
Mr President
I would first like to recognise and associate myself with the statement by the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Tonga on behalf of the Pacific Island Forum group of countries represented at the United Nations in New York.
Mr President
This year marks an important milestone for the international law of the sea – it is now twenty-five years since the conclusion of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, otherwise know as UNCLOS. Over this quarter of a century, the global community’s interaction with, and use of, the oceans and its diverse resources has evolved significantly. During this time, the Convention has proven to be both flexible and resilient, with much of it now forming part of the corpus of customary international law.
Since last year’s debate under this item, the international community has again moved closer to realising the objective of universal adherence to the Convention. Australia would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Morocco, Moldova and Lesotho for having acceded to the Convention in the past year.
Mr President
The resolutions before us continue to raise issues of utmost importance to Australia, invoking issues of key national, regional and international interest. Priority issues for Australia include governance arrangements for regulating human activities on the world’s oceans, the role and operation of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, seeking to improve maritime security and safety, and working towards the sustainable management and conservation of marine living resources.
High seas governance
Mr President
The international community is faced with a number of challenges from both existing and potential activities and human impacts on the high seas, many of which are recognised in the resolutions before us. Issues that need to be addressed most urgently include overfishing, destructive fishing practices, marine pollution, the impacts of climate change and the use of the oceans to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Just over a month ago, Australia participated in an expert workshop in New York, convened with the purpose of identifying gaps in oceans governance and the implementation of existing regulatory frameworks, as well as considering various proposals for improving oceans governance outcomes.
We look forward to considering these issues further at next year’s second meeting of the Ad-Hoc Working Group on Marine Biodiversity Beyond Areas of National Jurisdiction, bearing in mind the important discussions we had earlier this year on marine genetic resources. Australia has played a leading role in the previous discussions of the Working Group, and hopes to continue to do so.
Maritime Security and Safety
Mr President
Australia looks forward also to the opportunity presented by next year’s Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea to explore avenues for cooperation and methods for addressing the challenges of maritime security and safety.
As a large island nation and coastal state, Australia recognises the need for increased coordination at the domestic, regional and global levels to improve prevention and response capabilities in relation to new and emerging threats to maritime security. These issues have relevance not only for prominent coastal and maritime states, but represent key policy challenges across a broad spectrum, including energy security, international trade and commerce, piracy and armed robbery at sea, transnational organised crime and maritime terrorism, particularly in respect of offshore installations.
We are pleased that recent technological developments are contributing to improvements in the safety of shipping and maritime domain awareness, including the work of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) on systems for the Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) of ships.
In addition, we welcome regional efforts to address threats to maritime security, including the establishment of the Information Sharing Centre (ISC) in Singapore just over a year ago under the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP). We note that the Centre has reported a decline in recorded incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the first half of this year when compared to the same period last year. This is certainly a positive development, and we hope the trend continues.
Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS)
Mr President
Australia welcomes paragraphs in the omnibus resolution addressing the important work of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), and the challenges that lie ahead.
Following Australia’s submission on the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in late 2004, we continue to engage constructively with the Commission as it enters the final stages of its work in formulating recommendations, upon which Australia will base its final outer limit.
We encourage States whose experts are serving on the Commission to do their utmost to ensure the full participation of those experts in the work of the Commission. Members must be in a position to work together for extended periods in New York in order to expedite the consideration of submissions, and to avoid potential backlogs as the pace of submissions quickens over the immediate years ahead.
We would like to express our appreciation for the hard work of the Division on Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea in responding to calls for the strengthening of its capacity in its role as Secretariat to the Commission, and in working to build and improve the capacity of States in their preparation of national submissions. Based on Australia’s own experience, preparing a submission is a demanding technical, scientific and legal task, and we are pleased to be able to continue sharing our experiences and lessons learned with other States as they plan and chart a course towards making their own submissions.
Sustainable Fisheries and Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks
Mr President
Turning to fisheries, Australia welcomes the accession, since last year’s debate, of five States to the vitally important United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) – Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Latvia.
Australia maintains its strong commitment to the Agreement, and encourages ongoing action to broaden and strengthen its implementation, bearing in mind the important outcomes of the May 2006 Review Conference. We call on States that have not done so to accede to, and implement the Agreement, as well as the conservation and management measures adopted by relevant regional fisheries management organisations (RFMO).
Significant Adverse Impacts of Fishing on the Marine Environment
Last year’s resolution on sustainable fisheries was an important step forward in regulating bottom fishing and managing the impacts of destructive fishing practices on the marine environment. In particular, Resolution 61/105 called upon competent RFMOs and arrangements to adopt and implement measures by the end of 2008 to identify vulnerable marine ecosystems, assess proposals for bottom fishing and ensure that bottom fishing does not proceed if assessed to have significant adverse impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems. In unmanaged areas of the high seas, States are to do the same or not authorise their vessels to engage in bottom fishing.
We welcome recent efforts by RFMOs and similar arrangements to regulate bottom fisheries in accordance with Resolution 61/105. Measures adopted recently by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) are an example of best practice in this area, requiring Contracting Parties to submit relevant information to the CCAMLR Scientific Committee, including, where possible, initial assessments of proposed bottom fishing activities, including mitigation measures to prevent significant adverse impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems. On the basis of such information, the Scientific Committee then makes a recommendation to the Commission on whether bottom fishing should proceed.
Australia continues to work in its region towards establishing new RFMOs and adopting interim measures for bottom fisheries in accordance with Resolution 61/105. As an initial co-sponsor with New Zealand and Chile, Australia continues to be a key player in the development of the South Pacific RFMO (the SPRFMO). We welcome the adoption this year of voluntary interim measures by participants in the negotiations to establish the SPRFMO. These interim measures will apply until relevant conservation and management measures come into force under a fully constituted SPRFMO.
Moreover, Australia signed the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) in December 2006, and encourages States to move as quickly as possible to follow the SPRFMO example by adopting interim measures, pending the SIOFA’s entry into force, for conserving fish stocks and managing bottom fisheries, including mitigating potential significant adverse impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems. We look forward to the SIOFA’s entry into force as soon as possible.
IUU Fishing
Mr President
Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a complicated and multi-faceted problem. We must address this scourge of the oceans through a combination of increased flag state responsibility, strengthened port State measures to restrict market access for IUU catch, and strong action against nationals involved in IUU fishing activities. Australia continues to take this problem very seriously and acts firmly against foreign vessels fishing illegally in Australian waters.
Australia welcomes the important progress made in the joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) Ad Hoc Working Group on IUU Fishing, which met for the second time in Rome in July 2007. We look forward to ongoing collaboration between the FAO and IMO, including crucial work on broadening the application of a unique vessel identifier, which would deliver a permanent and more accurate method for identifying vessels, particularly in the face of efforts to disguise their identity through changed names, altered colours and fabricated call signs, even while at sea. We must continue in our efforts to make life as difficult as possible for those engaged in reckless IUU activities.
Finally, Mr President, Australia has a strong interest in further global development of port-state measures as a tool in the fight against IUU fishing. We welcome the outcomes of the 27th COFI meeting, in particular the proposal to develop a legally binding instrument on minimum standards for port-state measures. Such an instrument would build on the important progress that has been made regionally, for example, by CCAMLR, whose Member States are now obliged to deny port access to vessels appearing on the CCAMLR list of IUU fishing vessels.
In the face of declining fish stocks globally and the inability or unwillingness of flag States to comply with international standards and obligations, stronger port-state and market-based measures must be a priority for the international community.
Thank you, Mr President.