Oceans and Law of the Sea

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will hold its fiftieth session from 1 July to 16 August.

NEW YORK, 20 June (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The twenty-ninth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was held at Headquarters from 17 to 19 June 2019.  For background information, see Press Release SEA/2104.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the twenty-fifth anniversary of its entry into force, in New York today:

NEW YORK, 13 June (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The twenty-ninth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will be held at United Nations Headquarters from 17 to 19 June.

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

Delegates elaborating the terms of a new high seas treaty under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea hailed expanding convergence on many of that instrument’s substantive elements, as the Intergovernmental Conference tasked with drafting a legally-binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity concluded its second session today.

The Intergovernmental Conference tasked with drafting a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity continued its work on cross-cutting issues today, with delegates outlining whether the new treaty should establish a clearing house mechanism, and if so, for what purpose.

Delegates today grappled with the issue of funding sources for capacity‑building and the transfer of marine technology — as well as the most suitable monitoring and review processes in that arena — along with the matter of establishing subsidiary bodies, as the Intergovernmental Conference, tasked with drafting a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity, continued its work.

The Intergovernmental Conference drafting the first‑ever legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity continued negotiations today, with delegates concluding discussions on the obligation to conduct environmental impact assessments of activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction and then focusing on how the new treaty should handle capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology among States parties.

The Intergovernmental Conference to draft a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity began its second week today, with delegates considering how that treaty should reflect the content of environmental impact assessment reports.