The Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region

Cartagena de Indias, Columbia, 21-24 March 1983

1. The Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region was convened by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in pursuance of a recommendation adopted by the Intergovernmental Meeting on the Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment Programme (Montego Bay, 6-8 April 1981).
2. The Conference met at the Centro Internacional de Convenciones, Cartagena de Indias, from 21 to 24 March 1983, at the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Colombia.
3. The States and regional economic integration organizations invited to participate in the Conference were:   Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, France, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Venezeula, the Caribbean Community and the European Economic Community.
4. The following States and regional economic integration organizations accepted the invitation and participated in the Conference:   Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, France, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Venezuela, the Caribbean Community and the European Economic Community.
5. Representatives of the following United Nations bodies and specialized agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations also attended the Conference:
   United Nations
   • United Nations
   • Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
   • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

   Specialized agencies

   • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
   • International Maritime Organization (IMO)
   • Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

   Intergovernmental organizations

   • Organization of American States

   Non-governmental organizations

   • Caribbean Conservation Association
   • International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
6. During an inaugural ceremony, the Conference heard a welcoming address by His Excellency Mr. Julio Londoño, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Colombia. The Conference was formally opened by Mr. Mostafa K. Tolba, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, who served as the Secretary-General of the Conference.
7. The Conference adopted as its rules of procedure the draft rules proposed by the secretariat (UNEP/IG.39/3).
8. The Conference elected His Excellency, Mr. Julio Londoño, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, head of the Columbian delegation, as President of the Conference.
9. The Conference also elected the following officers:

   Vice-Presidents:	His Excellency, Minister José J. Cabrera Malo    (Venezuela) His Excellency, Minister Wladimir Pérez Leiva   (Nicaragua) His Excellency, Minister Clarence Rambally    (Saint Lucia)
   Rapporteur:	Mr. Anthony Orr    (Jamaica)
   Chairman of the Main Committee:	His Excellency, Ambassador José Luis Vallarra    (Mexico)
   Chairman of the Drafting Committee:	Mr. Jean-Luc Florent    (France)

10. The Conference adopted its agenda as follows:
    1. Opening of the Conference.
    2. Organization of the Conference.
       1. Adoption of the rules of procedure;
       2. Election of the President;
       3. Election of three Vice-Presidents, Rapporteur, Chairman of the Main Committee and Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
       4. Adoption of the Agenda.
       5. Appointment of the Credentials Committee.
       6. Appointment of the Drafting Committee.
       7. Organization of the work of the Conference.
    3. Examination of the draft Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region.
    4. Examination of the draft Protocol concerning Co-operation in Combating Oil Spills in the Wider Caribbean Region.
    5. Consideration of the report of the Credentials Committee.
    6. Adoption of the Convention and its Protocol.
    7. Adoption of the Final Act of the Conference.
    8. Signature of the Final Act.
    9. Closing of the Conference.
11. In conformity with the rules of procedure, the Conference established the following Committees:
    General Committee:

    Chairman:	President of the Conference
    Members:	Vice-Presidents of the Conference, Rapporteur, Chairman of the Main Committee and Chairman of the Drafting Committee.

    Main Committee:

    Chairman:	His Excellency, Ambassador José Luis Vallarra    (Mexico)
    Vice-Chairman:	Mr. Allan Norman Araya Umaña    (Costa Rica)
    Rapporteur:	Mr. Anthony Orr    (Jamaica)

    Credentials Committee:

    Chairperson:	President of the Conference
    Members:	Vice-Presidents of the Conference, Rapporteur, Chairman of the Main Committee and Chairman of the Drafting Committee.

    Drafting Committee:

    Chairperson:	Mr. Jean-Luc Florent    (France)
    Members:	Mr. Luis Carlos Barrera Méndez    (Colombia) Mr. Alfredo Evelio Amenteros Vegueriz    (Cuba) Mr. Partick Széll    (United Kingdom) Mr. Scott A. Hajost    (United States of America) Mrs. Imeria Núñez de Odreman    (Venezuela)

12. The report of the Third Meeting of Experts on Draft Regional Agreements for the Wider Caribbean Region (UNEP/IG.39/4) served as the basis for the deliberations of the Conference. The report contained, in particular, the texts of:

    Draft Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region;

    Draft Protocol concerning Co-operation in Combating Oil Spills in the Wider Caribbean Region.

13. In addition, the Conference had before it a number of other documents that were made available to it by the secretariat.
14. In conformity with rule 4 of the rules of procedure, the Credentials Committee examined the credentials of representatives and submitted its report to the Conference. The Conference approved the recommendation of its Credentials Committee that the credentials of the representatives of sixteen participating States and of the European Economic Community should be recognized as being in order.
15. As a result of its deliberations, the following instrumnets were adopted by the Conference:
    

    Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region

    Protocol Concerning Co-operation in Combating Oil Spills in the Wider Caribbean Region

16. The delegations participating in the Conference considered that, for the application of the Convention and its Protocols, the term "pollution" will be construed in accordance with international law relating to their subject-matter.
17. The Convention and Protocol, which are annexed to this Final Act, will be open for signature at Cartagena de Indias on 24 March 1983 and at Bogotá from 25 March 1983 to 23 March 1984 by States invited to participate in the Conference and by any regional economic integration organization exercising competence in fields covered by the Convention and Protocol and having at least one member State which belongs to the Wider Caribbean Region, provided that such regional organization has been invited to participate in the Conference.
18. The Conference also adopted resolutions, the texts of which are appended to this Final Act.