In , the General Assembly decided that the Preparatory Commission for the entry into force of the Agreement under the 51³Ô¹Ï Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) and for the convening of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement shall be chaired by Co-Chairs, one from a developed country and one from a developing country, taking into account gender balance, and requested the President of the General Assembly to undertake consultations, in an open and transparent manner, for the nomination of the Co-Chairs-designate of the Commission. Janine Coye-Felson, Deputy Permanent Representative of Belize to the 51³Ô¹Ï, and Adam McCarthy, Chief Counsel and First Assistant Secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia were elected Co-Chairs of the Preparatory Commission at the organizational meeting of the Commission, held from 24 to 26 June 2024.
At its organizational meeting, the Preparatory Commission also elected 15 Vice-Chairs to the Bureau of the Commission, as follows: Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Latvia, Japan, Mauritius, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Sierra Leone, Singapore and South Africa. The Preparatory Commission took note that, on an exceptional basis and without setting a precedent, the three seats on the Bureau from the Group of Asia-Pacific States would be rotated among nine States for respective sessions of the Commission as follows: Singapore, Japan and the Philippines would serve as members of the Bureau for the organizational meeting; Tonga, China and Indonesia would serve as members of the Bureau from the commencement of the first substantive meeting; and Fiji, the Republic of Korea and Viet Nam would serve as members of the Bureau from the commencement of the second substantive meeting. It also noted, inter alia, that the membership of the Bureau for the seats of the Group of Asia-Pacific States would be as communicated to the Co-Chairs by the States concerned for subsequent meetings, if any.