Oceans and the law of the sea A/RES/72/73 far as possible, meet at United Nations Headquarters for up to 26 weeks but not less than an intended minimum of 21 weeks a year for a period of five years, distributed in such a way that the Commission determines to be the most effectiv e, and that no two sessions be sequential, and to request the Commission to prepare a plan of sessions to be held in 2017 on the basis of that request, 18 Recognizing the need to ensure that the Commission can perform its functions under the Convention expeditiously, efficiently and effectively and maintain its high level of quality and expertise, Expressing concern about the implications of the workload of the Commission for the conditions of service of its members, Recalling, in this regard, the decisions of the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth Meetings of States Parties to the Convention regarding the conditions of service of the members of the Commission, 19 Recalling also its decision, in resolutions 57/141 of 12 December 2002 and 58/240 of 23 December 2003, to establish a regular process under the United Nations for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socioeconomic aspects, both current and foreseeable, building on existing regional assessments, as recommended by the World Summit on Sustainable Development, 20 and noting the need for cooperation among all States to this end, Recalling further its decisions, in resolution 65/37 A of 7 December 2010, resolution 66/231 of 24 December 2011, resolution 70/235 of 23 December 2015 and resolution 71/257 regarding the Regular Process, as established under the United Nations and accountable to the General Assembly, Recalling that the Division was designated to provide secretariat support t o the Regular Process, including its established institutions, Recalling also the cross-cutting role of ocean science in Sustainable Development Goal 14 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and taking note that, at its twenty-ninth session, the Assembly of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization endorsed the proposal for an international decade of ocean science for sustainable development, to be established for the period 2021–2030, Recognizing the importance and the contribution of the work of the Informal Consultative Process established by the General Assembly in its resolution 54/33 of 24 November 1999 to facilitate the annual review of developments in ocean affairs by the Assembly, Noting the continuously growing responsibilities of the Secretary-General under the Convention and related resolutions of the General Assembly, in particular resolutions 49/28 of 6 December 1994, 52/26 of 26 November 1997, 54/33, 65/37 A, 65/37 B of 4 April 2011, 66/231, 67/78 of 11 December 2012, 68/70 of 9 December 2013, 69/245 of 29 December 2014, 69/292, 70/235 and 71/257 and in this context the unprecedented substantial increase in activities of the Division, in particular in view of the growing number of requests to the Division for additional outputs and servicing of meetings, the provision of technical assistance and capacity-building, the need for enhanced support and assistance to the Commission and the role of the Division in carrying out the functions in resolution 69/292, as the secretariat of the __________________ 18 19 20 17-21819 See SPLOS/303. SPLOS/286 and SPLOS/303. See Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August–4 September 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.II.A.1 and corrigendum), chap. I, resolution 2, annex. 7/55