Items20The creator’s order
  1. 1Tommy KohTommy KohBorn 12 Nov 1937Singapore provided the president who steered the final stage of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to its 1982 conclusion. Koh had to work across coastal states, maritime powers and countries seeking a share in ocean resources. His example shows the influence available to a trusted chair: the…0i
  2. 2Arvid PardoArvid PardoBorn 12 Feb 1914Malta's UN ambassador put the deep seabed on the international agenda in 1967, arguing that its resources should be treated as a common inheritance rather than claimed by the strongest states. That principle entered the later Law of the Sea Convention. Pardo illustrates agenda-setting by a small…0
  3. 3Satya NandanSatya NandanBorn 10 Jul 1936Fiji's Nandan chaired the informal group that negotiated the 1994 agreement revising how the Law of the Sea Convention's seabed provisions would operate. His detailed work helped bridge disagreement over the regime after the original treaty had already been adopted. Read him alongside Pardo:…0
  4. 4Rena LeeRena LeeAs president of the negotiations on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, Singapore's Lee helped bring the high-seas agreement to a concluded text in 2023. The discussions combined conservation, marine genetic resources and the interests of states with very different scientific capacities. Her…0i
  5. 5Christiana FigueresChristiana FigueresBorn 7 Aug 1956The Costa Rican diplomat led the UN climate secretariat during the rebuilding of negotiations after Copenhagen and through the 2015 Paris Agreement. Her role was international, not that of Costa Rica's national negotiator: cultivating confidence and cooperation among governments helped make a…0i
  6. 6Tony deBrumTony deBrumBorn 26 Feb 1945The Marshall Islands' foreign minister helped bring vulnerable island states and much larger economies into the High Ambition Coalition at the Paris climate talks. That cross-regional grouping pressed for a stronger agreement, including attention to the 1.5-degree temperature goal. His distinctive…0i
  7. 7Pa Ousman JarjuPa Ousman JarjuThe Gambia's climate envoy and minister worked through the Least Developed Countries Group and co-facilitated a working group on action before 2020 at the Paris talks. He described the temperature goal, loss and damage, and recognition of poorer states' needs as gains from sustained diplomatic…0
  8. 8David DonoghueDavid DonoghueIreland's UN ambassador co-facilitated the negotiations on the 2030 Agenda with Kenya's Macharia Kamau, reaching agreement among all UN member states in 2015. The task was to hold together a development programme spanning poverty, inequality and environmental protection. Donoghue's contribution is…0
  9. 9Csaba KőrösiCsaba KőrösiHungary's Kőrösi co-chaired the Open Working Group that prepared the Sustainable Development Goals, working with Kenya's Macharia Kamau before the final 2030 Agenda negotiations. Their job was to turn broad consultations into a workable proposal. Comparing him with Donoghue makes the sequence…0i
  10. 10Don MacKayDon MacKayNew Zealand's MacKay chaired the committee that completed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006, after leading the working group behind an earlier draft. Disabled people's organisations were participants in shaping the process, not merely its beneficiaries. His example…0