A Long-Running Move for Action

The week of August 22nd started like any other in New York: streets bustling, city humming with life. This week, though, New York has once more hosted a UN meeting, to the anticipation of climate and marine experts around the world.

Experts convened in the city to make another push towards the entry of the High Seas Treaty into force. Formally known as the BBNJ Agreement, the treaty was adopted in June of 2023 after years of negotiation. Between 2018 and 2023, there had been five sessions of negotiation on the treaty, each taking a different angle on the treaty up to its adoption. For example, the first session focused on the treaty’s scope of waters “Beyond National Jurisdiction," a point of great influence throughout the proceedings. The second session determined the BBNJ could not undermine existing national institutions; the third involved the careful line between mankind’s seafaring freedom and the common goal of marine conservation . The fourth session mainly allocated as to what concerns the treaty would address: marine genetic resources, area-based management tools, marine protected areas, environmental impact assessment, and marine technological capacities.

The fifth session was suspended due to failure to reach an agreement, which was eventually picked back up in March of 2023, and the text was finalized. After two decades of progress, the treaty was then open for signature within two years of September 20, 2023. The closing of the signature period is less than a month away, and the treaty comes closer and closer to entering into force.

The Push for Entry

 The BBNJ needs sixty ratifications for it to enter into force, or become legally binding. Currently, the number of ratifications stands at exactly 54, 90% of the way to entering into force. After 60 ratifications, there will be a 120-day countdown to when the treaty will be binding, and all ratifying countries will meet regularly to assess their progress on protecting marine life. Also worth noting is that the treaty has gained 140 signatories, indicating key interest from member states of the UN. The High Seas Alliance also hopes that after getting 60 ratifications on the BBNJ, universal ratification by all 193 member states of the UN will be possible.

As experts convened in New York on August 22nd, key issues came to the forefront as 60 ratifications seemed on the horizon. Many at the UN held the view that the treaty could be reasonably expected to come into force by the latter part of 2025, or early 2026 at the latest. Most considered it a high priority for UN climate action.

Indeed, Greenpeace called the BBNJ the “biggest conservation victory ever”, as 5,540,513 people petitioned the UN to formally adopt the treaty by 2023. The entry of the treaty into force would be pivotal for marine conservation. The treaty details the equitable use of marine resources and a focus on protecting certain marine environments to restore biodiversity. It also details the use of environmental impact assessments to mitigate human impact on marine environments, and the enablement of the transfer of technology to store information for international cooperation.

Numerous Voices, One Future

With the gathering completed on August 29, numerous parties made their voices heard. Chief among them were the voices of the indigenous peoples of oceanic nations who are most directly affected by the treaty. The representative of the Federated States of Micronesia called upon the UN to recognize indigenous peoples of small island developing states (SIDS) as key rights-holders in the grander context of the treaty and efforts in marine conservation. Additionally, the G77, the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries in the UN, alongside China, CARICOM, SIDS, and the African Group stressed the importance of obligatory participation funding within the treaty, and opposed restrictions on states with arrears, or behind on their dues to the UN.

With 6 ratifications to go, the treaty looks poised to enter into force in the coming months, as the world eagerly awaits.