On 4 March 2024, in a major achievement, the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Conference established by General Assembly resolution 72/249 agreed on the text of a draft 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. The draft agreement, finalized during the two-week long resumed session, is expected to be adopted at a further resumed fifth session of the Conference to be held in the near future. An open-ended informal working group was tasked by the Conference with ensuring the uniformity of terminology throughout the draft agreement and harmonizing the versions in the six official languages of the United Nations, without reopening discussions on any substantive issue.
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The draft agreement, which was negotiated as a package, addresses the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, in particular, marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits; measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas; environmental impact assessments; and capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology. A number of cross-cutting issues are also addressed, including the establishment of a Conference of the Parties, a Scientific and Technical Body, other specialized subsidiary bodies, and a Secretariat, as well as financial resources and mechanism, implementation and compliance and dispute settlement.
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The United Nations Legal Counsel, who serves as Secretary-General of the Conference, welcomed this significant step for the attainment of global goals on sustainable development and biodiversity and as a clear demonstration of multilateralism’s strength.
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Through his Spokesperson, the Secretary-General of the United Nations stated that this was a victory for global efforts to counter the destructive trends facing ocean health, now and for generations to come and that it is crucial for addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
