Signature by Canada of the BBNJ Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

On 4 March 2024, the United Nations Legal Counsel received Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, The Honorable Diane Lebouthillier, to officiate the signature by Canada 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).

This is the 88^th signature of the BBNJ Agreement since it opened for signature on 20 September 2023, and two countries ratified it already.  The Legal Counsel congratulated Canada on behalf of the Secretary-General and expressed his utmost confidence that the BBNJ Agreement holds the potential to make significant contributions to addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, as well as achieving ocean-related objectives and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.