2 STATEMENT DELIVERED BY THE DELEGATION OF CUBA
Cuba participated with great interest in the drafting group
on the updating of resolution A.720(17) "Guidelines for
the Designation of Special Areas and the Identification of
Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas", with the intention of
contributing its own modest experience to the content of the
draft.
Cuba wishes to place on record its gratitude to the countries
participating in the group for having succeeded in producing
a document that is well-balanced and useful for the future,
and particularly wishes to thank the Chainnan of the group
and the Secretariat for their efforts, which contributed so
much to our work.
This subject is one of special significance for our country
due to the importance we attach to the protection of our
ecological heritage, our sensitive ecosystems and our marine
resources, features which are present in the majority of
maritime States.
At the same time, most of the particularly sensitive sea
areas are located near the seacoasts and coastal areas of
developing countries, and constitute both actual and
potential resources for their economic development and for
the livelihood of their peoples.
Accordingly, we are concerned that the document which is
being proposed as a new appendix A, entitled "Procedure
for the identification of particularly sensitive sea areas
and adoption of associated protective measures", may,
rather than facilitating the identification of new
particularly sensitive sea areas, constitute an obstacle to
the attainment of the objectives we are all seeking.
In particular, we are concerned at the conditionality which
the procedure attempts to establish between concern for
identifying a particularly sensitive sea area and the taking
of so-called associated protective measures.
These are the grounds, Mt. Chairman, for the reservation
which the delegation of Cuba wishes to express in regard to
this procedure. It considers that the said document requires
more exhaustive consideration, and requests that its view be
recorded in the Committee's final report.
