China Criticizes Belgium-Chile Joint Bid for Ocean Treaty Secretariat, Citing Six Inconsistencies
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, speaking at a regular press conference in Beijing on November 12, criticized a joint bid by Belgium and Chile to host the secretariat of the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). Belgium and Chile announced on November 6 that they would merge their bids, proposing to place the secretariat in Valparaíso, Chile, the clearing-house mechanism in Brussels, Belgium, and to hold meetings of the subsidiary bodies in Brussels, without consulting the wider parties to the agreement.
Mao said China had nominated Xiamen to host the BBNJ secretariat earlier this year and had gained the support of a majority of the agreement's parties within a short time. Under the agreement, she noted, the location of the secretariat, the establishment and operation of the clearing-house mechanism, and the venue for subsidiary-body meetings are all matters for the Conference of the Parties to decide.
Mao listed six respects in which the Belgium-Chile plan falls short: it is inconsistent with the agreement's provisions, deciding collectively reserved matters through a private arrangement; inconsistent with procedural fairness, bundling the secretariat location and the clearing-house into one package; inconsistent with international practice, since splitting the secretariat and the clearing-house across oceans would raise operating costs; inconsistent with regional balance, as most major international institutions are in Europe and none is in Asia; inconsistent with fair competition, politicizing the bid; and inconsistent with the original commitment, as Chile, which had bid on behalf of the Global South, would not host the secretariat's substantive functions.
Mao said the agreement's adoption and entry into force were a victory for multilateralism, and that China, as one of the first signatories and parties to the agreement and its largest contributor of assessed dues, is willing and able to support the secretariat's operation and is fully prepared to do so. She called on the international community to choose the location that best serves the secretariat's efficient operation. (Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China)
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：厦门市景，南普陀寺一带远眺世茂海峡大厦双子塔，厦门是中国提名的《海洋生物多样性协定》秘书处申办城市。Mx. Granger 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Xiamen, China, the city China has nominated to host the BBNJ secretariat. Photo by Mx. Granger, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
