Lords Committee to take evidence on arctic defence and law of the sea
The House of Lords Committee on the Arctic will next week take evidence on Arctic security, defence and international relations, followed by a session on the law of the sea and maritime boundaries in the Arctic Ocean.
The Committee will take evidence in two sessions on Tuesday 22 July in Committee Room 1 of the House of Lords. The full details are:
- Dr Jeffrey Mazo, Consulting Senior Fellow for Environmental Security and Science Policy, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
In this session the Committee will focus on international relations within and around the Arctic region, and the possible impact on security of the increasing accessibility of the Arctic. The Committee will also consider whether recent events in Crimea and Ukraine have impacted on cooperation in the Arctic:
- c.11:40am - Professor Robin Churchill, University of Dundee
- Professor Maurice Mendelson QC, Blackstone Chambers
- Professor Philip Steinberg, Centre for Borders Research, University of Durham.
In this session questions will focus on the operation of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), how disputes relating to the law of the sea are typically settled in an area such as the Arctic Ocean, what impact the failure of the United States to ratify UNCLOS has and to what extent UNCLOS helps avoid disputes over maritime boundaries and the exploitation of resources in the Arctic.
The Committee will publish a Call for Evidence next week. To subscribe to an e-alert to be informed when the Call for Evidence is published please add your details on the Committee's webpage.
You can follow the Committee on Twitter: @LordsArcticCom.
The session will be webcast at www.parliamentlive.tv and is also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.
