Summary: April 12, 2002: Statement of the European Union, delivered by H.E. Mr. José Antonio De Yturriaga Barberán, Ambassador at Large for the Law of the Sea, on behalf of the European Union. Collaboration and Coordination on Ocean Issues (New York)
Mr. Co-Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union in relation to collaboration and coordination on ocean issues.
The countries associated with the European Union Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, the associated countries Cyprus and Malta, align themselves with this statement.
In the General Assembly's resolution 56/12 of last year, the Member States of the UN declared themselves convinced of the need to improve coordination at the national level, and cooperation and coordination at both intergovernmental and inter-agency levels, in order to address all aspects of the oceans in an integrated manner.
In previous sessions of the ICP, the EU supported the view that a more effective coordination and cooperation on global management of the oceans was urgently needed. States and international organizations should start turning existing sectoral institutions -at national, regional and global levels- into a flexible, coherent and interactive network, capable of responding to the goal of sustainable development of the oceans. In this regard, the UN system is ideally placed to provide such a
co-ordination.
But charity begins at home, and the UN has first to set the example by duly coordinating the programs and activities of the various bodies within its system dealing with oceanic and maritime affairs. A previous report of the Secretary-General revealed that there was a lack of coordination in addressing ocean issues that had prevented the emergence of more efficient and result-oriented ocean governance. The EU, therefore, has supported the coordination efforts undertaken within the UN system,
and encouraged the Secretary-General to take further measures to improve the collaboration between the Secretariat -including the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea- and the various UN bodies dealing with maritime matters.
This coordinating role has been assumed since 1993 by the Subcommittee on Ocean and Coastal Areas of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (SOCA). In its resolution 54/33, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to undertake measures aimed at ensuring more effective collaboration and coordination between relevant parts of the Secretariat and the UN system as a whole on ocean affairs and the law of the sea, and improving the effectiveness, transparency and responsiveness of
SOCA.
The Chairman of SOCA, Mr. Patricio Bernal, attended previous ICP meetings, informed the delegations of the activities of SOCA and participated in a fruitful exchange of views about the ways and means to enhance cross-sectoral cooperation and coordination, both at intergovernmental and inter-agency levels. At last year's meeting, delegations unanimously called for the strengthening of SOCA and for the provision of adequate resources for the Subcommittee.
At its May 2001 meeting, SOCA noted that cooperation between the relevant parts of the UN Secretariat for the purpose of ensuring better coordination of UN work on the oceans was considered imperative and that the most productive course of future action lay in building on existing mechanisms. Therefore, the existence of a mechanism such as SOCA was needed.
Accordingly, the General Assembly, in its resolution 56/12, of 28 November 2001, requested the Secretary-General to ensure more effective collaboration and coordination between the relevant parts of the UN Secretariat and the UN as a whole, and encouraged all UN bodies to help this process by drawing to the attention of SOCA those areas of their work which may, directly or indirectly, affect the work of other UN bodies.
All these recommendations were ignored by the High-Level Committee on Programmes, which did not seem to be on the same wavelength as the UN member States. The Committee recommended moving away from the concept of permanent subsidiary bodies and relying on "ad hoc" coordination arrangements. At its session of October 2001, the ACC, following the advice of the HLCP, decided that all existing subsidiary bodies, including SOCA, should cease to exist by the end of the year.
Therefore, we were astonished to learn that SOCA had been dissolved, without being replaced by any other body or arrangement. This awkward situation reminds me of the joke of the two painters. One was at the top of a ladder painting the ceiling of a room and the second one, who needed the ladder, took it away while saying to his colleague: "Hold on to the brush: I am removing the ladder". Mr. Co-chairman, we have been deprived of the ladder of SOCA, in spite of the recommendations by ICP and by
the General Assembly. We were aware that SOCA was in a period of transition and was undergoing a review of its mechanism, but during the last ICP we were reassured that, while the structure for coordination might undergo changes, the function and goal of coordination in ocean affairs would be carried out. When one has a headache, beheading is not the best solution.
The EU does not agree either with the arguments leading to the suppression of SOCA or with the way this body has been dissolved. Our main goal is to achieve effective coordination and, for this purpose, we need a permanent and robust body under the ACC, which meets regularly, has continuity and is endowed with sufficient authority to coordinate autonomous agencies and bodies. All that cannot be ensured, in our view, by "ad hoc" arrangements and occasional meetings, which would produce the
opposite result: dispersal and lack of coordination.
The EU is not an unconditional fan of SOCA. We were aware of its shortcomings, but, being the only available mechanism of coordination, we gave it our critical support and tried to improve its performance. Now, let us face the situation. We agree with FAO that once the decision to terminate the existing coordinating mechanism has been taken, its functions should be continued through other mechanisms. "SOCA is dead. Long live the new coordinating body!". With due respect to ICSPRO, we think that
the Interinstitutional Committee for Scientific Programs Related to Oceanography is not in a condition to fulfil the coordinating role, since it is a very specialized institution.
The EU disagrees with the "modus operandi" for the suppression of SOCA, which is tantamount to a jump "in vacuo". It would have been more prudent to maintain the existing coordinating mechanism until its replacement by the new body or arrangement. Otherwise, a coordinating gap has been created and still exists at present. We do not know whether this uncertain situation has contributed to the fact that the report on the oceans for the PrepCom for the World Summit on Sustainable Development has
apparently been elaborated and published without the participation of DOALOS.
Aware of this situation, the Secretary-General says in its report that "the members of the defunct SOCA have engaged in substantial dialogue regarding the most effective approach to inter-agency cooperation and coordination within the new framework". Under which authority and with which mandate, Mr. Co-Chairman?. If SOCA had the capabilities to recommend the best ways to ensure coordination, including the establishment of new structures, it should not have been abruptly dismantled. If it did
not have such capabilities, it is not appropriate to entrust its members with any task on the matter.
We are somewhat confused and uneasy with the latest developments and expect that the Secretariat will offer us the relevant information and explanations. We hope that some light will come out of our debate and that the ICP will be able to make recommendations to the General Assembly and to the Secretary-General on the best way to enhance the needed cooperation and coordination between the various UN bodies dealing with the oceans.
We believe that it is necessary to establish an inter-agency forum to gather together, on a regular basis, all the agencies and institutions of the UN system related to the oceans. It should meet regularly and whenever it is considered necessary, and report to the ACC. It may establish "ad hoc" working groups to oversee particular activities, such as the implementation of the Atlas of the Oceans or of the GPA. This forum should contribute both to improving synergies among the various bodies,
and also reviewing programs and activities and identifying grey areas of issues needing to be explored or addressed, with a view to updating and enriching the relationship between UNCLOS and Agenda 21.
In this respect, the EU has proposed on previous occasions that SOCA carry out a factual review of the mandates, capacities and activities of the UN relevant bodies, as well as the relationship between them. Such review would unable us to identify areas where adjustments should be considered in order to avoid gaps, overlaps or inconsistencies, and would facilitate an overview of the present status of international cooperation on ocean affairs. This need is still as pressing as ever. The new
body which eventually replaces SOCA should take over this important task.
Thank you Mr. Co-Chairman.
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