By its resolution
56/12 of 28 November
2001 entitled, ‘Oceans and Law
of the Sea’ the General Assembly
emphasized the need to develop, where appropriate,
a strong regional focus in marine scientific
research and technology, through existing
regional organizations, arrangements and programmes,
so as to ensure the most effective use of
the available resources as well as the protection
and preservation of the marine environment,
particularly by avoiding duplication and by
achieving a holistic approach to the scientific
study of the oceans and their resources. The
Assembly expressed its deep concern once again
at the degradation of the marine environment,
particularly from land-based activities, and
emphasized the need for international cooperation
and for a coordinated approach at the national
and regional levels to this problem, bringing
together the many different economic sectors
involved. In this context, the Assembly reaffirmed
the importance of ensuring the full implementation
of the Global Programme of Action for the
Protection of the Marine Environment from
Land-based Activities (GPA). It also reiterated
its concern at the adverse impacts on the
marine environment from ships, in particular
through the illegal release of oil and other
harmful substances, and by the dumping of
hazardous waste, including radioactive materials,
nuclear waste and dangerous chemicals, as
well as the physical impacts on coral. In
this context, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General,
in cooperation with the competent international
organizations and programmes, including UNEP,
as well as representatives of regional development
banks and the donor community, to review the
efforts being made to build capacity as well
as to identify the duplications that need
to be avoided and the gaps that may need to
be filled for ensuring consistent approaches,
both nationally and regionally, with a view
to implementing the UN Convention on the Law
of the Sea, and to include a section on this
subject in his annual report on oceans and
the law of the sea. The Assembly also urged
relevant bodies of the UN system to develop,
with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) acting
as a focal point, appropriate interactions
in the field of marine science with regional
fisheries organizations, environmental and
scientific bodies or regional centres.
The Assembly emphasized once again the importance
of the implementation of Part XII of the Law
of the Sea Convention to protect and preserve
the marine environment and its living marine
resources against pollution and physical degradation,
and called upon States to continue to prioritize
action on marine pollution from land-based
sources as part of their national sustainable
development strategies and programmes, in
an integrated and inclusive manner, as a means
of implementing the GPA, and take note of
the review by the intergovernmental meeting
in Montreal, Canada, from 26 to 30 November
2001. The Assembly further called upon UN
agencies and programmes identified in resolution
51/189 of 16 December 1996 to continue to
fulfil their roles in support of the GPA,
as well as to consult with Governments, representatives
of the private sector, financial institutions
and bilateral and multilateral donor agencies
to review their involvement in the implementation
of the GPA and to consider, inter alia, what
international support is needed to help overcome
the obstacles to the preparation and implementation
of national and local action programmes.
The Assembly also called upon States to
take measures for the protection and preservation
of coral reefs and to support international
efforts in this regard, in particular the
measures outlined in the 1998 Renewed Call
to Action of the International Coral Reef
Initiative and in decision V/3 adopted by
the COP to the CBD at its Fifth Meeting, held
at Nairobi from 15 to 26 May 2000. The Assembly
encouraged coastal States to enhance their
national capacity and establish or improve
their marine management systems in order to
promote integrated marine management, the
protection of the marine environment and ecosystem,
and the sustainable development and utilization
of marine resources, and invited the relevant
agencies of the UN system and regional organizations
to take effective measures to assist the coastal
States in this regard.
The Assembly reeaffirmed its decision to
undertake an annual review and evaluation
of the implementation of the Convention on
the Law of the Sea and other developments
relating to ocean affairs and the law of the
sea, taking into account Assembly resolution
54/33 establishing the Consultative Process
to facilitate the review of developments in
ocean affairs, and requested the Secretary-General
to convene the third meeting of the Consultative
Process in New York from 8 to 15 April 2002.
The Assembly also recommended that, in view
of the forthcoming World Summit on Sustainable
Development, in its deliberations on the report
of the Secretary-General on oceans and the
law of the sea at its third meeting, the Consultative
Process organize its discussions around certain
areas, including ‘Protection and preservation
of the marine environment’
On the same day, the General Assembly adopted
resolution 56/13
on the ‘Agreement for the Implementation
of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea, relating to the Conservation
and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and
Highly Migratory Fish Stocks’.
By the text all States were urged to cooperate
to ensure the effective conservation, management
and long-term sustainability of such stocks.
The Assembly also urged States to coordinate
their activities and cooperate directly, or
through relevant regional fisheries management
organizations, in the implementation of the
International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter,
and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
Fishing. States were asked to develop national
plans of action on illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing and management of fishing
capacity; to promote information-sharing;
and to encourage the full participation of
all stakeholders. States were also encouraged
to integrate environmental protection requirements,
especially those resulting from multilateral
environmental agreements, in efforts to conserve
and manage such fish stocks.
General Assembly resolution
56/200 of 21 December
2001, addresses the ‘Promotion
of new and renewable sources of energy, including
the implementation of the World Solar Programme,
1996-2005’. The Assembly, emphasizing
that the World Solar Programme is aimed at
encompassing all forms of new and renewable
energy, including solar, thermal, photovoltaic,
biomass, wind, mini-hydro, tidal, ocean and
geothermal forms, called for further action
to ensure that the World Solar Programme is
fully integrated into the mainstream of the
efforts of the UN system towards attaining
the objective of sustainable development.
The Assembly reiterated its call on all relevant
funding institutions to support efforts to
develop the renewable energy sector in developing
countries on the basis of environmentally
friendly renewable sources of energy of demonstrated
viability, while taking into account the development
structure of energy-based economies of developing
countries, and to assist in the attainment
of the levels of investment necessary to expand
energy supplies beyond urban areas. The Assembly
also recognized that rural energy services
should be designed to maximize local ownership,
as appropriate. The Assembly invited the international
community to support the efforts of developing
countries to move towards sustainable patterns
of energy production and consumption. It requested
the Secretary-General, in consultation with
UNESCO and in cooperation with the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the
GEF, UNEP and other relevant organizations,
to submit to the Assembly at its fifty-eighth
session a report on the concrete action being
taken for the promotion of new and renewable
sources of energy, including the effective
implementation of and the mobilization of
resources for the World Solar Programme.
