Pacific Islands Forum
Closing Statement for BBNJ IGC4
Delivered by Agnes Harm,
Fiji’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN (capacity as PIF Chair)
Friday, March 18th, 2022
Madam President,
I have the honour to deliver these closing remarks on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum members with presence here in New York namely, Australia, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa,
Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and my own country, Fiji.
Let me begin by thanking you, Madam President, your team of Co- Facilitators, and DOALOS for the two years of the intersessional work and most recently our return to in person IGC4. Undoubtedly, we can all agree that the discussions held in the past two weeks have been the most productive of the entire BBNJ process. Our collective will and efforts put in to work together towards a same goal is to be commended under your stellar leadership.
Like many delegations here, we would have hoped to conclude our negotiations today, however, we remain committed to continue our collective efforts towards concluding an ambitious agreement that ensures the conservation and sustainable use of ABNJ and is based on the best available scientific information and relevant traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and local communities; recognising the special circumstances of Small Island Developing States; taking into account cumulative impacts of activities, as well as of climate change, without undermining existing relevant legal instruments and frameworks and relevant global, regional and sectoral bodies; promoting transparency in decision-making
processes and other activities carried out under the agreement; recognizing the importance of our role as stewards of the Ocean beyond national jurisdiction on behalf of present and future generations; and recognising the special interests and roles of coastal states, including
providing adequate consideration for adjacent coastal States through mandatory consultations with them and taking their views into account as part of the entire decision-making mechanism pertaining to activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction that pose potential threat or harm or otherwise affect the national jurisdiction of a coastal State in close proximity to the proposed activities.
We are at the point of the negotiations Madam President, where we trust you to present a text that is as clean as possible given that we have 10 more days of intersessional “homework” and “BBNJ parties” to attend in order to bring all of us to the meeting point so to speak.
Finally, we take this opportunity to bid farewell to those colleagues travelling back home and to the rest of us a well-deserved weekend.
I thank you.
STATEMENTS (Closing Plenary)
