UNITED NATIONS MARKS TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF OPENING

 

FOR SIGNATURE OF LAW OF SEA CONVENTION

 

Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening for signature of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  On 10 December 1982, following several years of negotiations, the Convention was opened for signature in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The oceans cover almost three quarters of the surface of the Earth and comprise nine tenths of its water resources.  It is estimated that over 90 per cent of all life originates in the oceans:  from time immemorial, oceans have provided essential ecosystem services, such as producing oxygen, nutrition, food security, livelihood, transportation and leisure for humankind.

Oceans and their resources, therefore, are an important element in efforts towards achieving sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals.  However, although once considered inexhaustible and invulnerable, the oceans and their resources are clearly under growing pressure from various human activities.

Even though more areas on land and in the sea are being protected, the proportion of species threatened with extinction continues to increase, and individual populations continue to decline, as pointed out by this year’s Millennium Development Goals Report.  Unprecedented efforts will be required to conserve habitats, to manage ecosystems and species in a sustainable way, and to achieve environmental sustainability.

The Convention on the Law of the Sea is one of the major achievements of the United Nations in its quest to strengthen peace and security, foster cooperation in solving international problems, and promote the economic and social advancement of all peoples of the world.  Together with its two implementing Agreements, the Convention provides the legal framework governing all aspects of ocean space and resources and their uses, by firmly establishing the rule of law in the oceans.  For this reason, it is often referred to as the “Constitution of the oceans”.

The Convention includes new and innovative concepts, which are significant contributions to the progressive development of international law.  It promotes the maintenance of peace and security by replacing potential conflicting claims by coastal States with universally agreed limits on maritime zones, including the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, and the obligation to delimit overlapping claims by agreement.

The treaty strikes important compromises between the interests of coastal States to exercise their rights and authority in areas under their national jurisdiction and to fully enjoy the benefits deriving from exploiting the natural resources thereof, and the interests of flag States to navigate through such areas.  It enhances the conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources, by providing coastal States with sovereign rights over the conservation and use of natural resources in vast exclusive economic zones (up to 200 nautical miles from the coast), and by requiring international cooperation in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

The Convention contains important provisions for protecting and preserving the marine environment, as well as a specific regime for marine scientific research, which, in areas within national jurisdiction, strikes a balance between the interests of coastal States and those of other States.

The international community’s interest in the peaceful settlement of disputes is addressed through the mandatory resort to the Convention’s procedures for settling disputes.  In addition, the Convention creates a unique system of management of the mineral resources of the seabed beyond national jurisdiction, based on the principle of common heritage of humankind.

Through their work, the General Assembly and the bodies established under the Convention -- the Meeting of States Parties, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the International Seabed Authority -- have contributed to the enrichment of the regime laid out in the Convention.  They have promoted a broader understanding and acceptance of the Convention, and helped develop global governance for the oceans and seas.  Other organizations, at the global and regional levels, have also played a significant role in further developing this legal framework.

Speaking this morning at the annual General Assembly debate on Oceans and the law of the sea, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro recalled the “considerable progress” made over the last 25 years towards the goals of the Convention.  But she noted that the implementation of some provisions had lagged behind.

“The world’s fisheries continue to be depleted,” Ms. Migiro said.  “The marine environment continues to be degraded by pollution from various sources, including pressure from growing coastal populations and climate change.  Transnational organized crime, such as illicit traffic in narcotic drugs, the smuggling and trafficking of persons, acts of piracy and terrorist acts, also present major threats.”

“Some of these illegal activities continue to occur and are on the rise in some regions,” she said.  “The plight of persons smuggled or trafficked by sea, in particular, raises significant humanitarian and maritime issues which require urgent attention.  New uses of the oceans, as well as emerging issues, such as adaptation of coastal communities to the impacts of climate change, also raise challenges that require enhanced understanding and interdisciplinary solutions.”

Also on behalf of the Secretary-General, Ms. Migiro called on Member States to sign and ratify the Convention to enhance its effectiveness.

We have a lot more to learn about the oceans.  In fact, oceans are the least studied part of our planet, although research shows that they contain more diversity of life than terrestrial ecosystems.  New scientific discoveries of marine biological resources thriving in extreme conditions of heat, pressure, toxicity and temperature are increasingly attracting the attention of the international community, in light of their ecosystem and economic values.

To fully explore the promises that these newly discovered resources hold for improving our understanding of life, and for possible application in the health and other sectors, it will be important to balance the various interests involved through international cooperation.  In that regard, there is now a prevailing consensus that these new issues should be addressed within the legal framework of the Convention.

With 155 parties to date, including the European Community, the Convention is one of few international agreements that are widely applied, including by many non-parties.  As the Convention aims at establishing a global legal regime for the world’s oceans, universal adherence is an important goal, as stated several times by the General Assembly.

For the text of the Convention and its implementing Agreements, a historical background and the status of ratifications, please visit the website of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, at www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm.

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For information media • not an official record