18 more countries ratify High Seas Treaty at UNOC3
A further 18 countries deposited their ratifications for the High Seas Treaty at a special event held at the 3rd UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, bringing the treaty much closer to the critical threshold of 60 ratifications needed for its entry into force.
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Malta, Vietnam, Jamaica, Albania, Bahamas, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Fiji, Mauritania, Vanuatu, Greece and Jordan have joined the 31 countries plus the European Union that have already deposited their ratification prior to the conference. This brings the total number of country ratifications to 49.
An additional 17 countries also signed the treaty, marking their intention to ratify it in the future, taking the total number of signatories to 134.
The treaty – formally titled 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) – officially opened for signing and ratification in September 2023.
France, co-hosting the UN Ocean Conference with Costa Rica, has made accelerating treaty ratification a key deliverable, and has played a key diplomatic role in driving progress ahead of the conference.
“Today’s surge of ratifications for the High Seas Treaty is a tidal wave of hope and a huge cause for celebration,” said Rebecca Hubbard, Director of High Seas Alliance. “This marks a powerful victory for everyone who worked relentlessly to put high seas protection at the heart of the global environmental agenda. Our deepest thanks go to the countries that stepped up and showed true political leadership of getting towards the first 60 to ratify the treaty.”
Hubbard said the action in Nice was “testament to the global momentum and urgency of action for the ocean”, adding that with just 11 more ratifications needed for entry into force, it could be just a matter of weeks before 60 is achieved.
