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The United Nations and

Ocean Governance
Vladimír Jareš
Director, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea
Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations
Yeosu Academy 2021

Overview
• UNCLOS and UNFSA bodies
• United Nations General Assembly
processes
• Other principal organs of the
United Nations
• UN-Oceans

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United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

• International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)
• International Seabed Authority (ISA)
• Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS)
UNCLOS and • Meeting of States Parties (MSP)

UNFSA bodies
United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement
• Review Conference
• Informal Consultations of States Parties (ICSP)

Meeting of States
Parties (MSP or SPLOS)
• Convened pursuant to article 319(2) of UNCLOS
• Meets annually in New York
• Considers annual report of ITLOS and deals with its
budgetary and administrative matters
• Considers information reported by the ISA and the
CLCS
• Considers the report of the Secretary-General
under article 319 of UNCLOS
• Elects members of ITLOS and the CLCS

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International Seabed
Authority (ISA)
• Established under UNCLOS and the 1994 Implementing
Agreement
• In operation since 1994
• Located in Kingston, Jamaica
• Mandated to promote the orderly, safe and responsible
management and development of the resources of the
deep seabed area for the benefit of mankind as a whole
• Main organs: Assembly, Council and Secretariat
• Developing a “Mining Code” to regulate prospecting,
exploration and exploitation of the Area

Commission on the
Limits of the Continental
Shelf (CLCS)

• Established under Annex II of UNCLOS

• In operation since 1997
• 21 experts elected by States Parties to
UNCLOS for 5-year terms
• Mandated to consider submissions and
make recommendations on extended
continental shelf claims
• 88 submission received; 8 submission
revised; 35 recommendations adopted
• Meets for 21 weeks per year in New York

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International Tribunal
for the Law of the Sea
(ITLOS)
• Established under Annex VI of UNCLOS
• In operation since 1996
• Located in Hamburg, Germany
• 21 independent members elected by States
Parties to UNCLOS for 9-year terms
• Jurisdiction over any dispute concerning
interpretation or application of UNCLOS
• Advisory jurisdiction
• Seabed Disputes Chamber; Special Chambers;
Chambers under article 15(2) of the Statute
• 29 cases (as of November 2021)

UNFSA
processes
• Review Conference
• Pursuant to Art. 36 of UNFSA
• Held in 2006, resumed in 2010 and
2016; adopted a series of
recommendations

• Informal Consultations of State Parties

• Assists in the preparations of the
Review Conference

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United Nations • Annual resolutions

General Assembly • Informal Consultative Process (ICP)
processes on • Regular Process (RP)
oceans and the • BBNJ process
law of the sea

Annual resolutions
Oceans and the Law of the Sea
• Annual review and evaluation of implementation of
UNCLOS and other developments relating to the law of
the sea
• Provides global policy guidance

Sustainable fisheries
• Annual review and evaluation of implementation of
UNFSA and other developments relating to sustainable
fisheries

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Informal
Consultative
Process
• Established in 1999 by A/RES/54/33
• Full title: United Nations Open-ended Informal
Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the
Sea
• Unique forum for exchange of views among
multiple stakeholders
• Facilitates annual review by the General Assembly
of developments in oceans and the law of the sea
• Suggests particular issues to be considered
• Identifies areas where international coordination
and cooperation should be enhanced

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Regular Process:
overview
• Established after 2002 UN World Summit on Sustainable
Development (Johannesburg)
• Full title: The Regular Process for Global Reporting and
Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including
Socioeconomic Aspects
• Aim: to regularly review the environmental, economic and social
aspects of the state of the world’s oceans, both current and
foreseeable.
• Purpose: to contribute to the strengthening of the regular
scientific assessment of the state of the marine environment in
order to enhance the scientific basis for policymaking.

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Regular Process:
governance
• Ad hoc Working Group of the Whole
(all UN members)
• Bureau (3 per UN Region)
• Group of Experts (5 per UN Region)
• Pool of Experts (nominations)
• National and intergovernmental focal points
• Secretariat (DOALOS)

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Regular Process:
output

2010-2014: First cycle:

2015: First Global Integrated Marine Assessment (World
Ocean Assessment I) released
2016-2020: Second cycle:
2021: Second World Ocean Assessment released
2021-2025: Third cycle

www.un.org/regularprocess

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Biodiversity in areas
beyond national
jurisdiction (BBNJ)

• Full title: Intergovernmental

Conference on an international
legally binding instrument 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

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Biodiversity in areas
beyond national
jurisdiction (BBNJ)

2004: ICP discusses BBNJ issues; GA

establishes Ad Hoc Working Group
2011: GA decides on package of topics
2015: GA decides to develop an int’l
legally binding instrument
2016 – 2017: Preparatory Committee
2018 – 2019: First-third sessions of the
Intergovernmental Conference (IGC)
2022: Fourth session of the IGC

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Biodiversity in areas
beyond national
jurisdiction (BBNJ)

Topics
• Marine genetic resources, including
questions on the 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
• (Cross-cutting issues)

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Biodiversity in areas
beyond national
jurisdiction (BBNJ)

Status
• President has prepared a revised
draft text of an agreement
• Intersessional work held from
September 2020 onwards
• BBNJ Trust Fund to assist developing
countries

www.un.org/bbnj

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Other principal • Security Council

organs of the • International Court of Justice
United Nations • Secretariat

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Security Council
• Piracy
• Migration by sea
• Maritime security
• Maritime safety
• Implementation of sanctions
• Maritime limits (Iraq/Kuwait)

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International
Court of Justice
Pending cases relating to the law of the sea:
• Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in
the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia)
• Question of the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between
Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles from the
Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v. Colombia)
• Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in
the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia)
• Dispute over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala
(Chile v. Bolivia)
• Guatemala’s Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim
(Guatemala/Belize)
• Land and Maritime Delimitation and Sovereignty over Islands
(Gabon/Equatorial Guinea)

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Secretariat
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) of the
Office of Legal Affairs
• Secretariat to UNCLOS (MSP), UNFSA and CLCS
• Secretarial support to General Assembly processes (ICP, Regular
Process, BBNJ, resolutions)
• Depositary functions and publications
• Capacity building and trust funds
• Fellowships and trainings
• United Nations World Oceans Day
• UN-Oceans Focal Point

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Depositary functions
and publications
• On behalf of the Secretary-General, acting as depositary
of and giving due publicity to charts and lists of
geographical coordinates concerning maritime zones:
• Maritime Zones Notification
• Law of the Sea Bulletin
• DOALOS website provides an online database with texts
of national legislation on maritime zones and treaties
dealing with the maritime delimitation

https://www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm

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Capacity-building
and trust funds
Capacity building
• Needs-based projects to assist in the
building of capacity and reinforcing
of approaches to the sustainable
management of ocean spaces, resources
and activities
Trust funds
• Assisting developing States implementing
UNCLOS and participating in General
Assembly processes

www.un.org/oceancapacity

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Fellowships and
trainings
• United Nations Nippon Foundation (UNNF) Fellowship
• UNNF Critical Needs Fellowship
• UNNF Thematic Fellowship
• UNNF Alumni
• HSA Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship
• BBNJ Training Programme

www.un.org/oceancapacity

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UN World
Oceans Day
• General Assembly designated
International Day since 2008
• Annually celebrated on 8 June
• UN event reaching hundreds
of thousands of viewers and millions
on social media

www.UNWorldOceansDay.org
unworldoceansday

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UN-Oceans
• Interagency mechanism on ocean and coastal
issues within the UN system
• Aims to strengthen and promote cooperation,
coordination and coherence of UN system activities
on oceans
• 26 members from the UN system and the ISA
• Focal point: UN Legal Counsel/DOALOS

www.unoceans.org

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Thank you

Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea

Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations

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