A/RES/64/71
46. Notes that consideration by the Commission of submissions by coastal
States in accordance with article 76 of and annex II to the Convention is without
prejudice to the application of other parts of the Convention by States Parties;
47. Notes with concern that the heavy workload of the Commission, owing to
the considerable number of submissions, places additional demands on and
challenges before its members and the secretariat as provided by the Division, and
in that regard emphasizes the need to ensure that the Commission can perform its
functions expeditiously, efficiently and effectively and maintain its high level of
quality and expertise;
48. Takes note of the decision of the nineteenth Meeting of States Parties to
the Convention, as reflected in the report of the Meeting, to continue to address, as a
matter of priority, issues related to the workload of the Commission, including
funding for its members attending the sessions of the Commission and the meetings
of the subcommissions, and, in particular, the decision that the bureau of the
Meeting will facilitate an informal working group to continue consideration of the
issues;11
49. Reiterates the duty of States under the Convention, whose experts are
serving on the Commission, to defray the expenses of the experts they have
nominated while in performance of Commission duties, and calls upon these States
to do their utmost to ensure the full participation of those experts in the work of the
Commission, including the meetings of subcommissions, in accordance with the
Convention;
50. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take appropriate measures,
within overall existing resource levels, to further strengthen the capacity of the
Division, serving as the secretariat of the Commission, including in the context of
the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2010–2011, in order to ensure
enhanced support and assistance to the Commission and its subcommissions in their
consideration of submissions, as required by paragraph 9 of annex III to the rules of
procedure of the Commission, in particular its human resources, taking into account
the need for simultaneous work on several submissions;
51. Urges the Secretary-General to continue to provide all necessary
secretariat services to the Commission in accordance with article 2, paragraph 5, of
annex II to the Convention;
52. Encourages States to participate actively and contribute constructively to
the ongoing work of the informal working group considering the issues related to
the workload of the Commission, so that the Meeting of States Parties to the
Convention may consider ways and means, including short-, medium- and long-term
measures, 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;
53. Requests the Secretary-General to consider the comments of the informal
working group, which are invited as soon as possible before mid-February 2010, in
the context of the update of the document entitled “Issues related to the workload of
the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf”; 26
25F
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26
12
SPLOS/157.