(As delivered)

STATEMENT BY H.E. AMBASSADOR YOSHIYUKI MOTOMURA
DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF JAPAN
AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING
ON AGENDA ITEM 25 (a): OCEANS AND THE LAW OF THE SEA
25 (b): DRIFT-NET FISHING
25 (c): FISH STOCKS AGREEMENT

10 DECEMBER 2002
UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

Mr. President,

At the outset, I would like to express my appreciation to the countries that coordinated the three draft resolutions before us today, namely, Brazil, Malta, and the United States of America. My thanks go as well to the countries that contributed to the consultations in a spirit of cooperation.

(20th anniversary of the opening for signature of the 1982 UNCLOS)

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the opening for signature of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Japanese Government pays high tribute to those who worked so diligently to finalize the text of the Convention, as well as to the countries which cooperated in that work. For the past two decades, the Convention has provided a legal framework for ensuring stability in ocean affairs in such areas as international navigation, ocean transportation, and fisheries.

Now, however, the international community is facing a range of new problems relating to the world's oceans. These include, for example, transnational crimes--such as terrorism and illegal trafficking in drugs--and the growing pressures on the marine environment. These problems were not anticipated at the time the text of the Convention was negotiated. Japan considers that each of them must be addressed in a manner that respects the spirit and provisions of the Convention while maintaining, in principle, its framework.

Mr. President,

We are pleased to note that 138 countries and regions have become Parties to the Convention, and that the Agreement on the implementation of Part XI has 108 State Parties. The Convention now provides an almost universal legal framework for ocean affairs, and the number of State Parties continues to grow. The Japanese Government ratified the Convention and the Agreement in 1996, and, as a country with one of the major exclusive economic zones, has faithfully implemented them. We would like to take this opportunity to stress the importance of harmonizing domestic legislation with the provisions of the Convention, with a view to ensuring its universality. Any declaration or statement which is not in line with the Convention should be withdrawn.

Let me now turn my attention to three organs established under the Convention, all of which Japan considers important. First, as one of the major countries engaged in developing mineral resources in the Area and as a member of the Council of the Authority, Japan has actively participated in the work of the International Seabed Authority.

Second, with regard to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, since 1997, the year of the first case, Saiga, the Tribunal has ruled on ten cases, and we highly appreciate the activities in which it engages. It should be noted that Judge Soji Yamamoto plays an important role on the Tribunal.

Third, since its establishment, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf has been preparing for the submission by each State Party on the outer limits of its continental shelf, for instance, by drafting the Scientific and Technical Guidelines. The Commission considered the first submission this year and adopted its recommendations on the matter. Japan, for its part, has been supporting the Commission's activities through the membership of Professor Kensaku Tamaki, who was elected to the Commission in 2001, replacing Dr. Kazuchika Hamuro, who had served as a member since 1997.

Japan is committed to continuing its support of these organs. With respect to the budget of the Authority and the Tribunal, it is noted that Japan, as the largest contributor, has been providing approximately one quarter of their budgets. Japan would like to thank all the States which showed flexibility and cooperation at the Authority's Assembly in August of this year, in reducing the ceiling of the scale of assessment for the Authority's budget so that it is in line with that of the United Nations regular budget. Furthermore, my delegation would like to ask for the cooperation of every delegation in addressing the issue of the budget of the Tribunal. Japan raised this issue at this year's State Parties' Meeting of UNCLOS, and will take the initiative to do so again at the next State Parties' Meeting.

(Marine environment; WSSD)

Mr. President,

Allow me next to touch upon the marine environment. The arguments with respect to the global environment have progressed significantly since the adoption of the Convention. Indeed, the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002 focused world attention on issues affecting the global environment.

Surrounded by the sea on all sides, Japan considers the preservation of the marine environment extremely important, and has been committed to the prevention of marine pollution at the national, regional, and international levels. As a State Party to not only the UNCLOS but also the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, Japan has been committed to their effective implementation, and strongly urges every country that has not yet done so to ratify them. The WSSD held in Johannesburg this year will, I believe, prove to be an important milestone in the preservation of the marine environment. Japan intends make substantive contributions at the global level.

(Fisheries)

Mr. President,

As a responsible fishing State, Japan has been working earnestly to enhance the conservation and management as well as the sustainable use of living marine resources. The importance of long-term conservation and sustainable use of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks cannot be overstated. We are committed to implementing measures necessary for the conservation and management of living marine resources in order to eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fisheries and thus conserve the marine eco-system.

(Maritime safety and security)

Mr. President,

The world has been plagued by the threat of piracy and armed robbery at sea. Over 200 incidents are reported annually; about 60 percent of them have occurred in the Asian region. Japan has been actively combating these illegal activities by organizing international conferences and seminars in order to strengthen regional cooperation, particularly in Southeast Asia, with a view to suppressing and preventing these crimes.

In relation to operative paragraph 33 of the draft resolution A/57/L.48, I am happy to mention that yesterday Japan signed "the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime." This is one of the efforts Japan is making to ensure maritime safety for international navigation.

(Marine Science and Technology)

Mr. President,

The next area I wish to touch upon is marine science and technology. Oceans, which occupy seventy percent of the world's surface, not only contain vast resources but also play an important role with respect to the global environment. Not all functions of the oceans, however, have yet been analyzed by scientists. Research is therefore essential in such areas as climate change and natural disasters. This will require international cooperation and, in the best interests of humankind, the results of the research must be shared and made widely available. Toward this end, Japan is determined to cooperate with the research programs promoted by such international organizations as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).

(The United Nations Informal Consultative Process)

Lastly, Mr. President, I would like to express our appreciation to the Secretary-General and the Secretariat for all the work that went into the annual Report of the Secretary-General, which describes the entire range of activities that have been conducted on ocean affairs and the law of the sea. I would like to reiterate that the open-ended informal consultative process which was inaugurated in 2000 has been an important forum for promoting discussion of these matters. My delegation welcomes the decision to be taken at this session of the General Assembly to continue this consultative process for the next three years.

In concluding, I wish to recall that, as the preamble of the UNCLOS states, "the problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need to be considered as a whole." Thus we must engage in the comprehensive management of the natural riches our oceans and seas contain. Every State must cooperate both regionally and internationally with a view to promoting the interests of future generations with regard to the sea. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has played a significant role in our efforts to that end, and I am certain it will continue to do so in the future as well. I would like to assure you, Mr. President, that my government will contribute to the stability of the legal framework of ocean affairs and thereby to the promotion of the use of the seas by the international community, in accordance with the Convention.

I thank you, Mr. President.