46th Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Convention and the 19th Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Protocol (LC 46/LP 19) - Opening remarks

ADDRESS BY MS. HEIKE DEGGIM, DIRECTOR, MED, ON BEHALF OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL, AT THE OPENING OF THE FORTY-SIXTH CONSULTATIVE MEETING OF CONTRACTING PARTIES TO THE LONDON CONVENTION & NINETEENTH MEETING OF CONTRACTING PARTIES TO THE LONDON PROTOCOL (LC 46/LP 19)

28 October 2024

Good morning distinguished delegates.

On behalf of the Secretary-General, it is a pleasure to welcome you all to the forty-sixth Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Convention and nineteenth Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Protocol.

As always, your agenda this week will cover a wider array of issues, from matters concerning the deepest ocean to matters relating to space - once again demonstrating the all-encompassing nature of the treaties, having been at the forefront of marine environment protection for more than fifty years.

Your meeting also comes at a point where preparations for the third United Nations Ocean Conference are starting, to be co-hosted by Costa Rica and France, in Nice, in June of next year.

In addition, the intergovernmental process to negotiate a legally binding instrument to address plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, is expected to conclude its negotiation phase at the end of next month, for the instrument to be adopted in 2025.

And, in just a few weeks' time, Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet in Baku, Azerbaijan, for their twenty-ninth Conference of Parties, COP 29. These are just a few of the important intergovernmental processes that your work contributes to, either directly or indirectly.

As always, it is therefore appropriate and useful to see the work of the LC/LP within the ocean governance context.

The treaties are an important part of the legal framework to sustainably manage and protect the ocean, and, therefore, what you achieve within the LC/LP community, has significant implications for the wider governance of our ocean and seas.

I am confident that, under the leadership of your Chair, Ms. Betsy Valente of the United States, ably supported by the first Vice-Chair, Commander Chakir El Aissaoui of Morocco and second Vice-Chair, Captain Frederick Fontanot of Uruguay as well as the staff of the Marine Environment Division together with the staff of supporting divisions, you will be able to successfully achieve the objectives set for this session.

I extend my best wishes to all of you for every success in your deliberations; and I invite you all to join the Secretariat at the welcome reception after the close of today's business.

Thank you.

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