Co-Chairs,

1. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. At the outset, we thank the Secretariat for providing the Note to facilitate our deliberations on Terms of Reference and modalities for the operation of, and rules of procedure of, the subsidiary bodies established under 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, including the selection process for their members. I will limit myself to a few preliminary remarks.

2. The Group considers that form should follow function. We agree that there will be common elements across all the bodies but some may require a specific ruleset. Our member States will present their ideas, and we will be listening to contribution of all in the room. In this respect, as a general starting point, we consider the fact that the rules of procedure of the COP may be applied mutatis mutandis to a particular subsidiary body to be a useful fallback, while that rule will not able to regulate everything. We might need further rules of procedure for each Subsidiary Body, in accordance with their specific nature, especially if we determine that that body does not need its own rules of procedure. In this context, we wish to highlight the following points:

a) We stress the importance of modalities and rules to be functional to allow for a smooth and flexible operation of the bodies in a coherent manner;
b) We need to consider the size and composition of each subsidiary body, while taking into account equitable geographical representation and dedicated seats for developing States, including from LDCs, SIDS, and LLDCs in accordance with the Agreement;
c) Subsidiary bodies will need to be able to interact directly with each other, with States and with subsidiary bodies under other relevant instruments, as well as with the COP; the Secretariat and the Clearing House Mechanism under BBNJ;
d) We are looking into whether it is appropriate or not for the Chair of a subsidiary body to have the right to vote and under what circumstances.

3. Finally, we reiterate that it should be straightforward to adjust rules and modalities to futureproof the work in a flexible way.

Co-Chairs,

4. We look forward to engaging in the discussion on this important item and, as mentioned before, the Member States of the G77 and China will enter into further detail.

I thank you.