Oceans and Law of the Sea

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its fifty-second session at United Nations Headquarters from 27 January to 13 March.

The General Assembly today decided to postpone the fourth session of the intergovernmental conference to draft a new global instrument on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction, citing concerns over the coronavirus disease, COVID-19.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks at the “Blue Economy” event in Addis Ababa today:

The preparation meeting for the 2020 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 concluded today, with delegates outlining their views on the potential content of the political declaration amid calls that it reflect the historical urgency to improve the state of the world’s waterways.

The world must galvanize collective action to protect and preserve the planet’s major water bodies, experts said today at the opening of a two-day preparatory meeting on the 2020 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14.

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will hold its fifty-second session from 27 January to 13 March.

The General Assembly today adopted two resolutions on the oceans and seas linked to implementation of the landmark 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, with speakers asserting during their annual debate that threats to the world’s marine ecosystem require firm political commitment and action.

NEW YORK, 2 December (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its fifty‑first session at United Nations Headquarters from 14 October to 29 November 2019.  There were no plenary parts during the session and its seven weeks were devoted entirely to the technical examination of submissions at the geographic information systems laboratories and other technical facilities of the Division.

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will hold its fifty-first session from 14 October to 29 November.

Delegates elaborating the terms of a new treaty under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea pledged to continue negotiating in the spirit of cooperation and good faith, as the Intergovernmental Conference tasked with drafting a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity concluded its third session today.