unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (08/29/89)
clarification to determine the amount needed.
The representative of Senegal said the key word in the article was
"necessary". Several factors must be taken into account: the size of the
site, the method and the number of nodules. A mining site could be made up
of several areas. The necessity for funds would depend on all those
parameters. There was a need for a viable Enterprise but there was also a
need for a basic, provisional Enterprise. Would those conditions apply to the
basic Enterprise? he asked.
The representative of Pakistan said the initial or nucleus Enterpise
involved only the establishment of the Enterprise, not actual production.
There could be no linkage of the two. Today, the Preparatory Commission was
in no better position to assess the amount of the funding. The size would be
based on the production ceiling allotted to each investor including the
Enterprise. The minimum size of the nodules to be explored had to be
determined and that too would depend on the production ceiling. Paragraph 1
was explicit. Discussion of the size of the fund had to take place when the
advent of mining was very close.
The representative of Liberia said a number of parameters had to be
looked at when bringing a mine to fruition. For instance, the same grade of
mineral might not have the same density. If the market was not ripe, it would
be difficult to decide the amount of money needed to mine. The question
should be taken up when sea bed mining was about to begin.
Discussion of Paragraph 2
The representative of Pakistan said that if the States parties were going
to guarantee the loans of the Enterprise, they would then have to exercise a
degree of control. That recalled the question of the establishment of
accounting rules and the linkage of the Governing Board with the Council. The
Convention only stated that States parties would make voluntary contributions
to the Enterprise; the article in question, however, would make such
contributions mandatory. More thought should be given to the matter.
The representative of Liberia said that the mechanism for the raising of
funds, described in paragraph 2, was contingent upon paragraph 1, which
outlined the use to which those funds were to be applied.
The representative of Cameroon said that any discussion of paragraph 2,
which dealt with the raising of funds, should be linked with the discussion of
article 15, paragraph 2 (e), which concerned the power of the Governing Board
to establish accounting rules.
Discussion of Paragraph 3
The representative of Japan asked for clarification of how a shortfall,
for which provision was made in paragraph 3, might occur.
The CHAIRMAN said it was his understanding that paragraph 3 dealt with
the situation in which a State party defaulted on its obligation.
The representative of Liberia said that one had to consider what happened
in the United Nations when a Member State defaulted on its obligations. What
did the United Nations do?
The CHAIRMAN said that the United Nations Charter provided that certain
penalties should flow from defaults; but that rule was "very often honoured in
the breach".
The representative of Cameroon said that, because of its practical
ramifications, the question of default had to be addressed. The Commission
should indicate precisely what it would "do to a State party" that did not
meet its obligations under the Convention.
The representative of India said that the question of shortfalls was
related to the magnitude and timing of funding requirements, as discussed in
paragraph 4. Determination of funding requirements could not be made until
after completion of the exploration phase. It was only then, when it was
determined that a project was both technically and economically feasible, that
a realistic appraisal of the funds needed for investment could be made.
The representative of Pakistan said that a problem with any co-operative
venture was that a few members who did not meet their obligations could
sabotage the entire operation. Contributions to the Enterprise had to be
treated differently from contributions to the Assembly, since the Enterprise
was a commercial venture. He suggested deleting the consensus requirement in
paragraph 3, replacing it by majority vote, and providing for the decisions
thus arrived at to be binding upon all States parties.
The CHAIRMAN asked whether the Preparatory Commission had the power to
change provisions "enshrined in the Convention itself". The Preparatory
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations
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