Oceans and Law of the Sea

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its sixty-third session at United Nations Headquarters from 17 February to 21 March.

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will hold its sixty-third session from 17 February to 21 March 2025 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. During the session, plenary meetings will be held from 24 to 28 February and from 10 to 14 March. The remainder of the session will be devoted to the technical examination of submissions by subcommissions on the Division premises, including geographic information systems laboratories and other facilities.

The General Assembly today adopted four resolutions, including one on oceans and the law of the sea, with delegates from small island developing States emphasizing the importance of preserving the ocean and equipping future generations to live in harmony with this critical, life-sustaining resource.

The General Assembly today underscored the importance of the ocean in sustaining life on Earth for present and future generations, underlining the need to maintain and promote a healthy, sustainable and rules-based global marine life as it considered the Secretary-General’s related report (document A/79/340).

The resumed thirty-fourth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, presided by Dunkan Laki Muhumuza (Uganda), was held at United Nations Headquarters on 27 November.

The thirty-fourth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will be resumed at Headquarters on Wednesday, 27 November, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Conference Room 1, for the purpose of filling a seat in the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf allocated to a member of the Commission from the African Group of States.

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its sixty-second session at United Nations Headquarters from 7 October to 22 November 2024.

This year marks 20 years of collaboration between the United Nations and The Nippon Foundation under the capacity-building project titled "Human Resources Development and Advancement of the Legal Order of the World’s Oceans". Launched in 2004, the project aims to enhance the capacity of Government officials and mid-level professionals, particularly from developing States, including least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, in the field of ocean affairs and the law of the sea.

A General Assembly-mandated publication on marine geospatial information management has been released by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs.

New estimates indicate that nearly 67 million people in Eastern Africa are now in need of humanitarian assistance, accounting for more than 20 per cent of the total number of people in need globally. Humanitarians continue to provide assistance to millions of people.