[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56785-56786]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15140]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice: 12454]


Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Department of State will hold an information session 
regarding the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law 
of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological 
diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).

DATES: The public meeting will be held via WebEx on July 17, 2023, 
2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you would like to participate in 
this meeting, please provide your (1) name, (2) organization/
affiliation, and (3) email address and phone number, to Samantha Emmert 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of State will hold a public 
meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, to discuss the 
Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on 
the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of 
areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). This public meeting will be 
held by way of WebEx, with a capacity of up to 1,000 members of the 
public to participate. To RSVP, participants should contact the meeting 
coordinator, Samantha Emmert,

[[Page 56786]]

by email at [email protected] for log on and dial-in information, and 
to request reasonable accommodation. Requests for reasonable 
accommodation received after July 16, 2024, will be considered but 
might not be possible to fulfill.
    The BBNJ Agreement was adopted by the BBNJ Intergovernmental 
Conference on June 19, 2023, at the United Nations, and the United 
States signed the BBNJ Agreement on September 20, 2023, the day it 
opened for signature. In April 2024, the United Nations established a 
Preparatory Commission to prepare for the entry into force of the 
Agreement and to prepare for the convening of the first meeting of the 
Conference of the Parties to the Agreement. An Organizational Meeting 
of the Preparatory Commission was held at the United Nations June 24-
26, 2024. Additional information on the BBNJ Agreement is available at 
https://www.un.org/bbnjagreement/en.
    We are inviting interested U.S. persons and entities to this 
virtual public meeting to share views about the BBNJ Agreement. We will 
provide information regarding ratifications by other countries, an 
update on domestic processes, and a read-out from the BBNJ Preparatory 
Commission's Organizational Meeting. The information obtained from this 
session will help the U.S. government in its preparations for the next 
steps related to the Agreement, including engagement in the Preparatory 
Commission.
    Authority: 22 U.S.C. 2656.

Jennifer L. Becker,
Deputy Director, Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs, Department of 
State.
[FR Doc. 2024-15140 Filed 7-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-P