On 13 July 2022, the Finance Committee of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) opened its meetings under the second part of the 27th session of ISA. The Finance Committee will be meeting in person for three days until 15 July 2022 in Kingston, Jamaica.
The Committee formally adopted its agenda (ISBA/27/FC/L.1) and re-elected Mr. Andrzej Przybycin (Poland) as Chair and Mr. Kenneth Wong (Canada) as Vice-Chair of the Committee for the 27th session.
In his opening remarks, ISA Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Michael W. Lodge, welcomed the members of the Committee to the first in-person meeting since 2019. He also commended and thanked them for their dedication and commitment to virtual working methods, which have ensured the sound financial management of ISA in 2020 and 2021. “I look forward to a fruitful discussion on the budget proposals for 2023 and 2024 and presentation of the financial statements and audit report,” Mr. Lodge said.
During the meetings, the 15 members of the Finance Committee will review the status of implementation of the budget for the current period; the status of contributions, of the trust funds and of the working capital fund; and the 2021 audit report. They will also review the proposed budget for the period 2023-2024 and the indicative scale of assessed contributions of Members for that period.
Further, the Committee will discuss the development of rules, regulations and procedures on the equitable sharing of financial and other economic benefits derived from activities in the Area, including the possible establishment of a seabed sustainability fund.
Other items, including the review of the Endowment Fund for Marine Scientific Research in the Area and the estimated cost of the Board of Auditors of the United Nations are also on the agenda.
The Finance Committee was created under Part XI of the 1994 Agreement to oversee the financing and financial management of ISA. The Committee consists of 15 members elected by the Assembly for a period of 5 years considering equitable geographical distribution amongst regional groups and representation of special interests.
More information on the 27th session can be found here.