Ms/Mr Chairperson,

1. The European Union and its Member States have the honour to address the 6th Committee on the topic of Sea-Level rise in relation to International Law, which was considered by the International Law Commission (ILC). The progress made on this topic is reflected in Chapter VIII of the 2023 ILC report.
2. The European Union and its Member States refer to the two issues papers and the additional paper, with a selected bibliography as an addendum (A/CN.4/761/Add.1),  to the first issues paper which were presented in 2020, 2022 and 2023 by the Co-Chairs of the Study Group. They, set out the main legal issues of sea-level rise in relation to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other relevant International Law instruments, and the issues related to statehood and the protection of persons affected by sea-level rise. The European Union would wish to congratulate the Co-Chairs, in particular, for the additional paper to the first issues paper.
3. As it has previously been stressed, the European Union and its Member States note the need to carefully consolidate results of the ILC work on all the legal aspects of sea-level rise which is to be undertaken with the expectation to issue a substantive report on the topic as a whole in 2025.
4. At this stage, the European Union and its Member States would like to draw the attention to five points, which they consider to be particularly relevant for the law of the sea aspects of the 2023 ILC report.
5. First, the European Union and its Member States would like to underline once more their resolute support for the integrity of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This Convention is recognized as being the “Constitution for the oceans”. It has a central importance in the debate, as it reflects customary international law, such as the general obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment, including against pollution. The definition of “pollution of the marine environment” as set out in Article 1, paragraph 1, sub-paragraph 4, of UNCLOS is interpreted as including greenhouse gas emissions. As consistently reiterated in the annual General Assembly Resolution on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, the Convention sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out. Consequently, any solutions that might be proposed in the report of the ILC on the topic of sea-level rise need to be in line with and respect the legal framework established by the Convention.
6. Second, in particular with regards to paragraphs 158, 227 and 228 of the 2023 ILC report, the European Union and its Member States agree, as stated previously, that the Study Group’s work should distinguish matters of policy from matters of international law in line with the mandate of the International Law Commission in general, and that its work should not propose any amendments to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but rather be rooted within the existing international rules and their interpretation.
7. As previously stated, the European Union and its Member States would also caution regarding the consideration of regional State practices together with the respective opinio juris in this context, because universally applicable provisions and principles such as the United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea need to be applied in a uniform way in all regions of the world.
8. Therefore, certain possible emerging regional State practices regarding seal level rise should not lead to the recognition of a regional customary law of the sea rule, and the European Union and its Member States would encourage the Study Group to build on the State practice and consider the opinio juris accepted by all the regions of the world before inferring the existence (or not) of an established State practice or opinio juris.
9. Third, with regard to the key issues of the legal stability with a focus on baselines and maritime zones, and of the immutability and intangibility of boundaries, as discussed in points 140 to 170 of the 2023 ILC Report, the European Union and its Member States would acknowledge that sea-level rise threaten many low-lying States and islands, especially small island States, and their coastlines. While the principle that “land dominates the sea” is an underlying premise for the attribution of maritime zones, this does not, however, necessarily imply that coastal States would be legally obliged to periodically review and update their charts and coordinates they have drawn (or agreed) and duly published in accordance with the relevant provisions of UNCLOS.
10. In this context, the European Union and its Member States welcome the observations contained in paragraphs 140 and 141 of the 2023 ILC report that no State has contested the notion of legal stability and the preservation of maritime zones and that Member States had underlined the need to interpret the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in such a way as to effectively address sea-level rise in order to provide practical guidance to affected States.  The European Union and its Member States also note with great satisfaction the further observation that an ever-increasing number of States had expressed the view that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea did not forbid or exclude the option of fixing or freezing baselines and that in doing so, these States had stressed the importance of interpreting the Convention with a view to preserving maritime zones.
11. With respect to these fundamental points the European Union and its Member States can agree with the preliminary observations of the ILC Study Group and an increasing number of States that the Convention does not forbid or exclude the preservation of baselines and the outer limits of maritime zones in the context of climate change-induced sea-level rise once established and deposited with the Secretary-General in accordance with UNCLOS, as a legal way to ensure the preservation of maritime zones and their legal stability.
12. In the same vein, and as already stated last year, the European Union and its Member States reiterate that there is no express obligation under the Convention on States to periodically review and update all the charts on which straight baselines are shown and the list of geographical coordinates of the points from which straight baselines are drawn (or agreed) and duly published in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention, and that there are major legal and policy reasons to recognise the stability provided for by the maritime delimitations established either by treaty or by adjudication.
13. That stated, the precise way in which the Convention ought to be interpreted and how the objective of legal stability is to be secured legally and in practice may require careful consideration in the further work of the ILC and its Study Group, as well as the consideration and agreement of States.
14. In conclusion, the European Union and its Member States once again congratulate the ILC and the reconstituted Study Group for the excellent work done so far on a matter that is of very high importance for the international community as a whole. The European Union and its Member States look forward to further discussions on all aspects of this delicate issue account taken of the crucial role vested in the respect for the integrity of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Thank you for your attention.