Speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General at the General Assembly celebratory event on the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), held on 29 April 2022, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel Miguel de Serpa Soares heralded it as “the Constitution for the Oceans” and one of the most significant legal instruments of the 20th century.
The long-term success of the Convention, presently enjoying close to universal acceptance, is due to a spirit of compromise shown by the negotiators, with States largely operating by consensus and balancing rights and obligations. While intending for the Convention to be comprehensive, the drafters also had the forethought to ensure that it would be sufficiently flexible to accommodate future developments.
Captioning the essence of the monumental achievement that the adoption of UNCLOS means, Mr. Serpa Soares said that “(t)his historic achievement is to be celebrated as the result of the steadfast resolve of the international community to overcome differences in a spirit of multilateralism, towards our shared goal of ensuring the peaceful and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources for present and future generations.”
