In June 2015, the United Nations General Assembly decided to develop an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction. Preparatory Committee meetings to discuss the instrument were launched in March 2016 and will be held over the course of two years. The contents of the new instrument will not only affect all activities in the high seas and on the deep seabed, but through implementing the general provisions of UNCLOS also determine the future direction of the legal regime of the oceans.

Page Top