EU Statement – UN General Assembly: Oceans and Law of the Sea
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Mr. President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Albania*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina* align themselves with this statement.
Mr. President,
The European Union and its Member States are pleased to intervene in this debate at the adoption of four important resolutions.
We would like to start by expressing our gratitude to the coordinators and co-facilitators of these resolutions for the excellent stewardship. We also express our appreciation to the Secretariat, and in particular to the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, for their constant support to delegations during the consultations. Their commitment and professionalism are commendable.
Mr. President,
The EU and its Member States are strongly committed Parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Convention has 171 Parties and is the fundamental pillar for ocean governance. It sets out the universal and unified legal framework within which ALL activities in ocean and seas must be carried out.
As such, the Convention is rightly recognised as the constitution of the ocean. Its provisions largely reflect customary international law and are thus binding on all States, irrespective of whether they have acceded to the Convention. By establishing the legal order for seas and ocean, the Convention contributes to sustainable development as well as to the peace, security, cooperation and friendly relations among all nations.
It is therefore imperative that the freedoms enjoyed under the Convention by all States, including non-parties and landlocked States, are respected. These include, in particular, the freedoms of navigation and the right of innocent passage. Moreover, all States, including non-parties, must exercise the rights, jurisdiction and freedoms recognised in the Convention in a manner which would not constitute an abuse of right and must fulfil their obligations as reflected in UNCLOS in good faith.
Similarly, it is also imperative that the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of coastal States over their maritime zones, as established under the Convention, are respected, including those generated by islands, and that all States act with due regard for the rights, duties and freedoms of other States under the Convention. All members of the international community must abide by the fundamental principles and rules of the law of the sea and should refrain from any actions undermining regional stability and security.
Further, the principle of the common heritage of humankind, is one of the cornerstones of the law of the sea. Under international law, as reflected in the Convention, the International Seabed Authority has the exclusive mandate to regulate the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in the Area. We strongly urge all States to respect this multi-lateral framework. The EU and its Member States regret that language on this important matter could not garner unanimous support for inclusion in the text of the Omnibus resolution despite overwhelming support.
Mr. President,
The EU and its Member States remain very concerned by the declining health of our ocean. The triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution continues to have dramatic consequences. Once again, global ocean surface temperatures reached record highs this year, putting additional pressures on the marine environment that is already facing severe threats from human activities. Once again, concentration levels of greenhouse gasses reached new heights. These gasses interact strongly with the ocean and are closely linked to human activities, and fuel climate change, rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification.
As underscored during the third UN Ocean Conference in 2025 it is imperative that we continue addressing these threats with the greatest possible urgency, as part of our wider efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Goal 14. We must collectively strive to achieve results with action-oriented outcomes. The wellbeing of future generations depends on it.
On this year’s Omnibus resolution, the EU and its Member States would like to express their strong disappointment that it was not possible to agree to reiterate the calls made in this year’s UNOC declaration. Similarly, we regret the blocking of many other important updates on issues of value to many delegations, in particular the impossibility for one delegation to welcome the convening of COP30 in Belem.
The EU and its Member States value the practice of consensual decision making that brings delegations together and makes the Omnibus resolution a fundamental document in ocean governance. The value of agreeing this resolution by consensus arises from delegations engaging in results orientated negotiations, where disparate positions converge through good faith discussions, flexibility and constructive engagement, and where agreement that enjoys broad support are reached. However, the EU and its Member States are extremely concerned by the approach taken by some delegations who have sought to exploit and, ultimately, undermine this process by coming into the negotiations with red lines and uncompromising positions. We do not consider that a political decision by one delegation not to participate in UNOC or COP30 constitutes a valid justification for blocking the rest of the international community from signalling their work in favour of a healthy ocean.
The EU and its Member States can exceptionally support the amendment proposed by Brazil. We consider that the General Assembly should welcome the convening of COP30 in Belem. We note that this amendment is of technical nature in that it reflects the routine updates of the relevant paragraph of the resolution every year in order to refer factually the latest COP meeting. Thus, our decision to support this specific amendment is exceptional given its technical and factual nature that aims to update the resolution. As such, it does not constitute a precedent and it is without prejudice to the strong value the EU and its Member States place in maintaining the tradition of consensus in this resolution whose framework function in ocean governance cannot be put to question. We look forward to continuing to work on this resolution in the following years in accordance with our established working methods that are based on consensus.
With regard to the rest of the Resolution, we are pleased with the inclusion of several important updates, including a recognition of the slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The collapse of this current would pose an existential threat, not only to Europe but for all of us. We also welcome the inclusion of a reference to the work of the International Telecommunication Union, as well as a renewed emphasis on the duty of flag States to effectively exercise their jurisdiction and control over ships flying their flag. We also wished this list were longer.
Mr. President,
On the Sustainable Fisheries resolution, the EU and its Member States welcome the overall outcome and the spirit of constructive cooperation shown by all participating delegations during the consultations.
While we remain deeply concerned that the debate on the status of UNCLOS has once again intruded into the consultations on fisheries, and regret that not more could be done to strengthen the resolution on transparency, control, monitoring and surveillance.
We appreciate that this year’s resolution invites States to strengthen cooperation in areas of the high seas where no subregional or regional fisheries management organization has been established, emphasizes the role of regional fisheries management organizations’ scientific committees in the provision of expertise, and acknowledges the role of regional fisheries management organisations in respect of the BBNJ Agreement.
We welcome its invitation to consider measures to enhance the provision of expertise and fisheries data to scientific committees in charge of producing the scientific advice for fisheries management as well as its encouragement to adopt and implement rules and procedures to monitor the accuracy of catch weighing and registration at landing and transhipment. We look forward to the nineteenth round of informal consultations of States parties to the UN Fish Stock Agreement in 2026, which will focus its discussions on the implications of the BBNJ Agreement for sustainable fisheries and the regional fisheries management organizations.
Mr. President,
The EU and its Member States are delighted that a third implementing agreement under the Convention, the BBNJ Agreement, will enter into force next month and we welcome the new Resolution on this Agreement.
The EU and its Member States were among the first Signatories of the BBNJ Agreement. We call on all States to become parties to the BBNJ Agreement as early as possible. Each ratification brings the international community a step closer to the universal application of the Agreement.
The EU and its Member States also welcome the decision by the General Assembly to convene the third session of the Preparatory Commission for the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement in March 2026 and look forward to the first Conference of the Parties to the BBNJ Agreement due to be convened no later than 17 January 2027. We have every intention to work with all delegations for the success of both these meetings.
Mr. President,
As regards the UNOC4 enabling resolution, the EU and its Member States would like to thank the Republic of Korea and Chile for offering to co-host the 4th UN Ocean Conference in June 2028, for presenting the draft enabling resolution, and for co-facilitating the informal consultations last month.
The EU and its Member States look back at a successful third UN Ocean Conference, co-hosted by Costa Rica and France and held in Nice in June this year. That conference and its outcomes in the “Nice Ocean Action Plan” generated important momentum to advance the implementation of SDG14, including through the entry into force and continued negotiations of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (SDG 14.6) and the upcoming entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement. We look forward to maintaining that momentum through the next UN Ocean Conference in 2028, and we wish to express our full support to the work of the Republic of Korea and Chile in this regard. We also look forward to negotiating the modalities resolution next year, including to ensure the meaningful participation of civil society organisations.
We would regret it if a vote were to be called on this resolution. We believe that such a call for a vote would undermine our collective effort and the constructive spirit of striving for consensus which has been a tradition in past resolutions on UN Ocean Conferences. The global emergency that the ocean is facing should be something that unites rather than divides us.
The EU and its Member States fully support this important resolution.
Mr. President,
All human beings depend upon the ocean, one way or another. The work we undertake must ensure that the ocean can continue to provide goods and services for current and future generations, in line with the ethos of the Convention.
There is only one Ocean, and we all share the responsibility not to overexploit it, but to use its resources sustainably; not to pollute it, but to protect it, so it can flourish; not to abuse it, but to cherish and share it with other species. Let’s fully recognise that life on Earth depends on a healthy ocean.
Mr. President, thank you very much.
* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.