Oceans and Law of the Sea

Democratic Republic of Congo authorities noted the end of the lava flow from the eruption of Nyiragongo, as well as a significant decrease in tremors in the area.  Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge announced yesterday that people could return to Goma and the territory around the volcano.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Oceans Day, observed on 8 June:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the launch of the “Second World Ocean Assessment” (WOA II) today:

The World Food Programme (WFP) said today that, due to significant funding gaps, it is cutting food rations for refugees and internally displaced people in South Sudan.  The cuts will affect nearly 700,000 of them and they will now receive 50 per cent of a full ration, down from 70 per cent.

A report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan finds increasing reports of torture in that country’s detention facilities.  Almost a third of those detained for security or terrorism-related offences reported torture or other ill-treatment.  

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video remarks at the launch of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, held today:

The resumed in‑person plenary meeting of the thirtieth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was held at United Nations Headquarters on 9 December 2020, concluding all the items on the agenda of the thirtieth Meeting.  The background press release can be found here:  www.un.org/press/en/2020/sea2128.doc.htm.

The thirtieth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will resume its work at an in‑person meeting on 9 December.

The General Assembly adopted a draft resolution today on sustainable fisheries, and postponed action on a second text on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as delegates reflected on how the COVID‑19 pandemic derailed what should have been a watershed year for international action on the world’s oceans.

In light of the situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the thirtieth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention, which was originally scheduled to be held at United Nations Headquarters from 15 to 19 June, was postponed.