26 March 2015 | CIL Distinguished Speaker Series

Reflections on the Negotiation of the Deep Sea Mining Provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: Implications for Singapore and Beyond

Introduction

Over the last several years, interest in deep sea mineral resources has grown as a result of an increase in demand for metal, a decline in the grade and tonnage of land-based mineral deposits, and advances in seabed mining technology. As of July 2014, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has approved 26 contracts – including one with Keppel Corporation’s subsidiary, Ocean Mineral Singapore Pte Ltd – for the exploration of mineral resources in the “Area”, the ocean space beyond national jurisdiction.

Given these developments, the time is ripe to consider the issues of deep seabed mining. As the driving force behind the negotiations on Part XI of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which led to the 1994 Agreement relating to its implementation and as the first Secretary-General of the ISA, Ambassador Nandan is in an incomparable position to explain how the negotiations of UNCLOS led to the Implementing Agreement, how the latter improves the deep seabed mining regime, as well as to discuss remaining issues.

About the Speaker

Ambassador Satya N. Nandan has had an illustrious career in the international arena, which spans several decades. He has represented Fiji before the United Nations, as Ambassador to several European States, and has led several intergovernmental organisations.

Ambassador Satya Nandan was an active participant in the negotiations for the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He has served as the UN Under-Secretary-General for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea and Special Representative of the UN SecretaryGeneral for the same (1983 – 1992).

In 1990, he initiated the informal negotiations on Part XI of UNCLOS, convened by the Secretary-General of the UN. These negotiations led to the 1994 Agreement relating to the implementation on Part XI of UNCLOS. He then served as the Secretary-General of the the International Seabed Authority from 1996 – 2008.

Ambassador Nandan, as Chairman of the Conference, played a key role in the negotiations of the 1995 Fish Stocks Agreement. He also served as Chairman of the Conference on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (the Multilateral High-Level Conference). Thereafter, he chaired the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission for two years.

He is currently a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Center for Oceans Law and Policy (COLP), University of Virginia School of Law.