03 February 2020
New York, New York
On 3 February 2020, Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, delivered opening remarks at the first plenary meeting of the fifty-second session of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
In his intervention, he congratulated the new Chair of the Commission, Mr. Adnan Al-Azri, on his election and acknowledged the contribution of the previous Chair, Mr. Yong-Ahn Park. He noted with appreciation the progress in the work of the Commission and addressed other matters of relevance in the work of the Commission, including the efforts related to the filling its ongoing vacancy. He also paid tribute to Ms. Lynette Cunningham, a former legal officer in the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea who had contributed to foundational documents and activities of the Commission and has recently passed, and the Director of the Division, Ms. Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, who would be soon retiring.
