The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is a critical part of the rules-based international system
Statement delivered by Ambassador Barbara Woodward to the UN General Assembly
Mr. President,
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea – UNCLOS - is a major achievement of diplomacy and international law. It is a critical part of the rules-based international system.
It has made a significant contribution to global peace, prosperity and security by providing consistency and certainty about ocean governance. It provides the legal framework for all maritime activities. The United Kingdom is committed to upholding its rules and securing the implementation of its rights and obligations.
This legal framework applies in the South China Sea as it also applies across the rest of the world’s ocean and seas. In that context, the UK underlines importance of unhampered exercise of the freedoms of the high seas, in particular the freedom of navigation and overflight, and of the right of innocent passage enshrined in UNCLOS.
The UK recognises, however, that challenges to ocean governance remain. The UK recognises the particular concerns of the member countries of the Pacific Island Forum and Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) with respect to the stability of their maritime boundaries in the face of sea level rise.
Despite duties on States to protect marine environment, the health of the ocean has significantly degraded due to human action, including from industries directly regulated by UNCLOS.
The UK is a founding member of the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Action Alliance launched and the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon earlier this year.
As the leader of the Global Ocean Alliance, and Ocean co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People alongside Costa Rica and France, and a member of the High Ambition Coalition for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) , the UK looks forward to the conclusion of an ambitious BBNJ Agreement at the resumed fifth session of the intergovernmental conference in February 2023.