United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea

20th Anniversary
(1982-2002)

Oceans cover almost three-quarters of the Earth’s surface. They comprise nine-tenths of our water resources and are home to over 97 per cent of life on our planet. They are an essential part of our biosphere: they power our climate and affect our health and well-being. Indeed, without the oceans, there would be no life on our planet.

Oceans are a vital economic resource that provides livelihoods to millions of people worldwide. The bulk of all international trade — approximately 90 per cent — is transported by sea. Over 29 per cent of global oil production comes from the seas. Seaside tourism and the cruise industry are major sources of revenue for many countries, especially small island developing States. Every year, almost 90 million tons of fish are captured world-wide, at a value of approximately $50 billion, providing work to 36 million people in the fishing and aquaculture industries alone. And, finally, more and more scientists are looking to the deep sea for future scientific discoveries and resources.

Law and Order on the Oceans

For centuries, the freedom-of-the-sea doctrine prevailed on the oceans. But by the mid-1960s, technological breakthroughs in navigation, fishing and ocean exploration, coupled with the population explosion, had dramatically changed humankind’s access to and use of the seas. Tensions arose between nations over conflicting claims to the oceans and their resources, and pollution threatened to poison the seas. Eventually, it became clear that a united world-wide effort was needed to maintain order on the high seas and to guide the intelligent use and management of marine resources.

In 1973, in response to these threats, the United Nations convened its third conference on the Law of the Sea. Over a nine-year period, shuttling back and forth between New York, Caracas and Geneva, representatives of more than 150 countries in marathon negotiations developed and balanced national rights and obligations. The treaty that was ultimately produced — often referred to as the “constitution for the oceans” — was the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). On 10 December 1982, the day it was opened for signature at Montego Bay, Jamaica, a record number of delegations – 119 – signed on. The Convention came into force on 16 November 1994, and today it is fast approaching universal participation, with 138 States Parties, including the European Union, and 157 signatories.

The Convention on the Law of the Sea

One of the most important legal instruments of the 20th century, the Convention made innovations in international treaty law. Conceived as a “package deal” that recognized that all problems concerning ocean space are closely interrelated and must be considered as a whole, it established that the seabed and ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdictions are the “common heritage of mankind,” whose use and protection are the right and responsibility of all. In addition, it called for the compulsory settlement of disputes; it set out the overall legal framework for all activities in or on the oceans and seas; and it provided detailed rules governing all uses of the oceans and defined the rights and responsibilities of States.

The treaty covers these major topics:

* Limits of maritime zones (territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf)
* Rights of navigation, including through straits used for international navigation
* Peace and security on the oceans and seas
* Conservation and management of living marine resources
* Protection and preservation of the marine environment
* Scientific research
* Activities on the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdictions
* Procedures for settling disputes between States

Maritime Zones and Rights of Navigation

One of the most fundamental achievements under the Convention is the consensus on the boundary between national and international waters, in which all States may exercise freedom of navigation. Previously, this had been a major bone of contention among coastal States. The Convention established a 12-nautical mile territorial sea, within which States are free to enforce any law, regulate any use and exploit any resource. At the same time, it preserved the right of “innocent passage” through territorial seas and guaranteed the right of transit passage for ships and aircraft through and over straits used for international navigation. Securing the right of transit passage was critical to naval powers; without it, the 12-nautical mile limit would have effectively closed off 100 straits used for international navigation.

The Convention also established the exclusive economic zones (EEZs), an innovative concept granting a coastal State the right to explore, exploit, manage and conserve all resources — such as fish, oil and gas — found in the waters and on the ocean floor on its continental shelf usually up to 200 nautical miles from its shores.

The exclusive economic zones have been beneficial to many coastal States, but with these exclusive rights came responsibilities and obligations. For example, within their exclusive economic zones, coastal States must take steps to prevent and reduce pollution and to promote scientific research. The Convention also encourages coastal States to make good use of fish stocks without overfishing — an essential feature, as about 90 per cent of the world’s fisheries fall within the jurisdiction of coastal States. At the same time, the exclusive economic zones preserve certain important rights and freedoms for other States, such as the rights to navigation and overflight and to lay cables and pipelines.

Ensuring Peace and Security

Today, peace and security are no longer seen only in terms of military confrontation and conflict. The modern community of nations is faced with a new generation of urgent and complex problems that transcend borders and can only be countered effectively by nations acting together. Acts of terrorism, criminal activities such as piracy and armed robbery, migrant smuggling and illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and other goods can threaten the security and stability of States and result in loss of life at sea. Another threat to peace and security arises from the maritime boundary disputes that result from competing claims by States to natural resources in the oceans. And the wider security of a coastal State, including the livelihood of its coastal community, can be threatened by a major pollution incident, such as an oil spill.

The comprehensive regulatory framework established by the Convention promotes the peaceful uses of the seas and oceans and makes an important contribution to the strengthening of peace, security, cooperation and friendly relations among nations. A key feature is its requirement that States cooperate to prevent acts of piracy and illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

Protecting and Preserving Ocean Life

Only 50 years ago, the sea was still largely a pristine wilderness. But today, pollution — approximately 80 per cent from land-based activities — is threatening its health, especially in coastal areas — the most productive of the marine environment. Eventually, scientists fear, the regenerative capacity of the oceans will be overwhelmed by the amount of pollution produced by man. Signs of degradation can easily be seen, especially along heavily populated coasts and in enclosed or semi-enclosed seas.

The Convention assigns the fundamental obligation and responsibility of protecting and preserving the marine environment to States, and it requires them to take every necessary measure to prevent, reduce and control marine pollution.

According to the Global Environment Facility, the three greatest threats to the world’s oceans are:
* Pollution from land-based activities
* Over-exploitation of living marine resources
* Alteration and destruction of marine UN-HABITATs

Pollution from Land-based Activities

The greatest threat to the health of the marine environment comes not from oil spills at sea or ocean dumping, but from human activities on land. Municipal, industrial and agricultural wastes and run-off produce pollutants, including sewage, radioactive substances, heavy metals, oils, nutrients, litter and persistent organic pollutants, that enter the marine and coastal environment.

Of these, sewage, or improperly treated domestic wastewater, poses one of the gravest hazards to coastal environments worldwide. The enormous quantities of nutrients contained in sewage are very damaging to the marine environment. They can produce algae blooms, sometimes toxic; destroy the very fertile but sensitive environments of coral reefs, lagoons and sea grass beds; and result in decreased species biodiversity. Sewage endangers human health by contaminating shellfish beds, water intakes and bathing areas, and it introduces plastics and other marine debris to coastal waters, threatening marine life through entanglement, suffocation and ingestion.

Oils from land-based sources, such as refined petroleum products or their derivatives, are equally harmful. They enter the marine environment by various routes from a variety of sources, including discharges and emissions from oil wells, refining and storage facilities, and from industrial and agricultural run-off. Ingested or absorbed through skin or gills, these oils are toxic to marine life and cause lasting damage to the fur and feathers of many marine species. They can also be harmful to human health, tainting seafood and contaminating water supplies.

Over-exploitation of Marine Living Resource

The oceans are being exploited as never before. Most of the world’s marine fishing areas are already yielding as much fish as they safely can. Today, about one quarter of fish stocks are being overfished, with about one half fully utilized. This leaves only about one quarter with room for increases in yields. Overfishing threatens the balance and viability of the entire marine ecosystem; it reduces economic growth and undermines the food security and livelihoods of people in coastal areas, particularly those living in developing countries.

A number of problems have complicated efforts to better conserve and manage the world’s fisheries. There has been an increase in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities on the high seas perpetrated by both vessels of States that are members of regional fisheries management organizations and by vessels of States that are not. A major problem is the reflagging of vessels by owners wishing to avoid compliance with fishing regulations. Other aggravating factors are the increase in the size of fishing fleets and government subsidies, strong market demand for particular fish products, and ineffective monitoring, control and surveillance. And because of limited resources, many coastal States do not have the capacity to enforce their conservation and management measures. For conservation and management to succeed, action is needed at the national, regional and global levels.

Alteration and Destruction of UN-HABITATs

Today, increases in population and economic activities in coastal areas are threatening marine UN-HABITATs as never before. Human activities related to urban expansion, such as the construction of ports, marinas and coastal defences, oil and gas exploitation, andmining, tourism and destructive fishing practices are harming coral reefs, shorelands, beachfronts and the ocean’s floor. UN-HABITATs important to marine biodiversity are under attack. Spawning and feeding grounds of marine species vitally important to world food security are being destroyed. By 1998, approximately 11 per cent of the world’s coral reefs had been destroyed. That year alone, an additional 16 per cent were severely degraded. And according to current projections, unless urgent measures are taken, as much as 50 to 60 per cent may be lost over the next 30 years.

Marine Scientific Research

Realizing that effective measures to preserve the marine environment and ensure the sustainable use of ocean resources must be based on extensive scientific research, the framers of the Convention were careful that access to ocean areas for research would not
be overly restricted by coastal States in the newly extended
maritime zones.

And although the Convention recognizes the sovereignty of coastal States over their territorial sea — and requires their prior consent for research within their exclusive economic zone and continental shelf — it also stipulates that, under normal circumstances, consent for research for peaceful purposes should be granted, not unreasonably delayed or denied. Indeed, in the 20 years since the adoption of the Convention, remarkable progress has been achieved in marine science, especially in the area of marine biology, where discoveries of new species have led experts to revise previous estimates of the number of marine species from 200,000 to between 10 and 100 million.

Managing the International Seabed

To determine who should be the custodian of the resources of the “common heritage” of humankind, the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, the Convention established the International Seabed Authority. An autonomous international organization, the Authority is mandated to manage the international seabed area and to administer the use of seabed resources such as polymetallic nodules, sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts. Headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica, the Authority came into existence in 1994, when the Convention entered into force, and became operational in 1996. Any disputes that may arise over seabed activities are to be dealt with by the 11-member Seabed Disputes Chamber that was established by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (see below).

The outer limits of national continental shelves define the boundary of the international seabed area. Each coastal State has jurisdiction over its continental shelf, which extends up to 200 nautical miles under certain conditions. But in some situations, a coastal State can extend the outer limit of its shelf even further seaward. In such cases, that State must present a submission to another body created by the Convention – the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). The Commission, which held its first session in 1997, oversees the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, and makes recommendations to coastal States. On the basis of these recommendations, coastal States determine the final and binding outer limits of their extended continental shelves.

Settling Disputes

The Convention established a compulsory mechanism to settle disputes relating to the Law of the Sea. When States Parties cannot themselves solve disputes arising from the Convention, they are obliged to follow certain procedures outlined in the Convention — such as recourse to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The Tribunal, which has its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, became operational in 1996, two years after the Convention came into force.

The United Nations and the Law of the Sea

The Convention is supplemented by two agreements that deal with seabed mining and with straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. It is further strengthened by a number of specialized multilateral treaties and agreements adopted by the United Nations and its specialized agencies and programmes — such as the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Maritime Organization, the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme — that cover different aspects of ocean affairs and the law of the sea. Within the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea serves as the secretariat of the Convention. It services the Meeting of States Parties and strives to build wider acceptance and understanding of the Convention and its application by providing information, advice and assistance to States and intergovernmental organizations. The Division monitors all developments relating to the Convention and to ocean affairs and the law of the sea in general, and reports annually on them to the United Nations General Assembly. It also makes recommendations to the Assembly and to other intergovernmental forums. The Division maintains a comprehensive information system and reference library on the Law of the Sea and ocean affairs, including national laws and treaties on maritime boundaries. It participates in educational and training programmes aimed at capacity-building at the national and regional levels. The Division’s web site can be accessed at: www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm.

The 20th Anniversary: 1982-2002

It has been 20 years since the Convention was opened for signature at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 10 December 1982. In observance of this milestone, the United Nations General Assembly has decided to devote two days of plenary meetings, on 9 and 10 December 2002, to discussions on “Oceans and the law of the sea” and to the observance of the twentieth anniversary. A special ceremony will be held in General Assembly Hall to celebrate the contributions of the many individuals who were instrumental in bringing the Convention to life and without whose expertise, vision, dedication and tireless efforts this groundbreaking instrument would not have come into being.

The Convention of the Law of the Sea has emerged as a model in international treaty-making for efforts to safeguard the world’s common resources and to regulate the use of the high seas for the collective good of all peoples.

Additional information can be found on the following websites:

Oceans and the Law of the Sea: www.un.org/Depts/los
United Nations Atlas of the Oceans: www.oceansatlas.org
International Seabed Authority: www.isa.org.jm
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: www.itlos.org
Department of Public Information: www.un.org/events/los20
Commission on Sustainable Development: www.un.org/esa/sustdev/oceans
International Court of Justice: http://www.icj-cij.org/
International Maritime Organization: www.imo.org
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: www.fao.org/fi
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO: http://ioc.unesco.org/iocweb
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): www.unep.org/ themes/marine/
UNEP Global Programme of Action: www.gpa.unep.org
UNEP Regional Seas Programme: www.unep.ch/seas
Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP): http://gesamp.imo.org