SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES CANADA FOR RATIFICATION

OF UN LAW OF SEA CONVENTION

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General was delighted to learn that Canada has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea -- a momentous occasion in the history of the Convention.  As a major coastal State, Canada has considerable special interests in maritime trade, fisheries and protection of the marine environment.  It has one of the longest coastlines in the world, bordering on three oceans, and one of the largest expanses of ocean space off its coast.  Canada has also been highly prominent in the development of the law of the sea, both at the Third United Nations Conference and as a key promoter of the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement.  The Secretary-General congratulates Canada on this important step, and welcomes it into the family of parties to the Convention on the Law of the Sea.

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