Statement by Ambassador at the UN General Assembly
meeting on the Law of the Sea.
Mr President, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, is
a major achievement of diplomacy and international law-making. It
is critical to the rules-based international system. Its
provisions apply to 70% of the surface of the globe and form an
essential component of global governance.
UNCLOS has made a significant contribution to global peace,
prosperity and security by providing consistency and certainty
concerning the governance of the ocean. It provides the legal
framework for all activities in the ocean and seas.
UNCLOS sets out the legal framework for maritime claims and the
rules of freedom of navigation. It sets out obligations for
bilateral, regional and international cooperation, including for
the conservation and management of living resources, for the
protection and preservation of the maritime environment, and for
the peaceful settlement of disputes. This legal framework applies
in the South China Sea as it also applies across the rest of the
world’s oceans and seas.
This year, we welcomed the adoption of the Biodiversity Beyond
National Jurisdiction Agreement. This Agreement is the third
implementing agreement under the Convention and is historic for
biodiversity. We support its entry into force as soon as
possible. The BBNJ agreement will mean much greater protection
for the two-thirds of the global ocean that lie beyond national
jurisdiction. It will play a key role in supporting the delivery
of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It is
critical that we work toward upholding the commitments in the GBF
to help achieve the target to effectively conserve and manage at
least 30% of the ocean by 2030.
We take this opportunity to reinforce the critical role that both
the BBNJ Agreement and Global Biodiversity Framework have in
relation to the topics covered by both the resolutions Oceans and
Law of the Sea and Sustainable Fisheries.
