On 3 September 2024, the United Nations Legal Counsel, Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares, officiated the signing by H.E. Mr. Ali Nasser Mohamed, the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations, of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).
The Maldives is the 92nd State to sign the BBNJ Agreement which opened for signature on 20 September 2023 and will enter into force 120 days after the deposit of the sixtieth instrument of ratification, approval, acceptance or accession. The Legal Counsel congratulated the Maldives on the occasion of this treaty action emphasizing that the timely entry into force and effective implementation of Agreement can make crucial contributions to addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, as well as to achieving ocean-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
