Pakistan signs UN agreement on Law of Sea

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has signed 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)’ at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The signing of the agreement reflects Pakistan’s continued commitment to multilateral cooperation and to the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in a statement said Pakistan played a leading role during the BBNJ negotiations, serving as chair of the group of 77 and China during the two main sessions in 2022.

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Representing the collective voice of developing countries Pakistan consistently advocated for fair benefit-sharing, capacity-building, and technology transfer, in line with the principle of the common heritage of humankind, it said.

As per the United Nations, the BBNJ Agreement was adopted on June 19, 2023, by the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction convened under the auspices of the UN. The BBNJ Agreement becomes the third implementing agreement to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Under the overall objective of the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, for the present and in the long-term, through effective implementation of the relevant provisions of the convention and further international cooperation and coordination, the agreement addresses four main issues:

• Marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits

• Measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas

• Environmental impact assessments

• Capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology

The agreement also addresses a number of “cross-cutting issues”, establishes a funding mechanism and sets up institutional arrangements, including a conference of the parties and various subsidiary bodies, a Clearing-House Mechanism and a secretariat.