The second session of the Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage took place at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris on December 1-3, 2009. Eastern Mediterranean University of the TRNC attended the meeting as an observer and an NGO. The total number of NGO’s was 16 and EMU was the only institution that participated at the university level.

The meeting carries enormous significance from the perspective that it addresses the issues related to protecting the global underwater cultural heritage and accordingly underwater archaeology. The meeting created a suitable platform to come up with decisions on how to protect the underwater cultural heritage in national and international waters, procedures to be followed in conducting underwater archeology studies, and how to keep the inventory records for these cultural values.  

The seating arrangement was designed in a manner where the observer countries were seated in the same row as USA, Russia, Germany and France and between Germany and France. The seats in front were allocated to Romania, Panama, Portugal and Santa Lucia. The back rows were spared for Italy, Greece, Azerbaijan and NAS (Nautical Archaeological Society of the UK). UNESCO made the seating arrangement of the States Parties. The seating arrangement for the observers was left to the participants. Underwater Archaeologist Hakan Oniz who is the Director of the Underwater Research and Imaging Center represented EMU. Mr. Oniz had the chance to endorse all the underwater activities conducted at EMU and distributed handouts for Conference Calls to all the participants.