-
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
Overview
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) was adopted on 19 June
2023 by the Intergovernmental
Conference on Marine
Biodiversity of Areas Beyond
National Jurisdiction
convened under the auspices of the
United Nations. 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 BBNJ 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; and
- Capacity-building and the
transfer of marine technology.
The Agreement also 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.
The BBNJ Agreement is open for
signature by all States and
regional economic integration
organizations from 20 September
2023 to 20 September 2025, and
will enter into force 120 days
after the date of deposit of the
sixtieth instrument of
ratification, approval, acceptance
or accession (see status at the .)
On 1 August 2023,
the General Assembly adopted
resolution ,
in which it approved the assumption
by the Secretary-General of the
United Nations of the functions
assigned to him under the Agreement,
including the depositary functions
and the performance through the
Division for Ocean Affairs and the
Law of the Sea of the Office of
Legal Affairs of the United Nations
(DOALOS), of secretariat functions
until such time as the secretariat
to be established under the
Agreement commences its functions.
Full text of the Agreement
( Arabic,
Chinese,
English,
Français,
Russian
Español),
Preparatory Commission for the entry into force of the Agreement and the convening of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement
On 24 April 2024, the General Assembly adopted resolution ,
in which it decided to establish a Preparatory Commission to prepare for the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement and to prepare for the convening of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement.
The General Assembly further decided that the Commission shall hold a three-day organizational meeting in the first half of 2024 to discuss organizational matters,
including the election of the Co-Chairs and a Bureau, the dates of the meetings of the Commission and the programme of work of the Commission.
The organizational meeting of the Commission is scheduled to take place from 24 to 26 June 2024 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Information on registration modalities to participate in the meeting:
- States Members of the United Nations, members of the specialized agencies, and parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
- Organizations and other entities with General Assembly permanent observer status, interested intergovernmental organizations and other international bodies, associate members of regional commissions,
and the United Nations system
- Relevant non-governmental organizations
Documents of the organizational meeting
- Official documents
- Provisional agenda ()
- Provisional organization of work ()
- Matters to be addressed at the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to 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: Note by the Secretariat ()
- Other documents
- Information for participants ()
Capacity-building and technical assistance
In line with General Assembly
resolution 77/321, DOALOS has
developed a programme of activities
to promote a better understanding of
the BBNJ Agreement and prepare for
its entry into force. The planned
activities include, among others,
regional workshops, technical
assistance at the national level,
briefings and side events, and the
development of tools and outreach
materials. In delivering these
activities, DOALOS welcomes
opportunities of cooperation with
States, relevant legal instruments
and frameworks and relevant global,
regional, subregional and sectoral
bodies, as well as other
stakeholders. DOALOS will also aim
to strengthen inter-agency
coordination and cooperation within
the 缅北禁地system in activities
supporting the entry into force and
implementation of the BBNJ
Agreement, including through its
role as the focal point of UN-Oceans.
On 16 January 2024, principals of
organizations participating in
UN-Oceans endorsed a statement
of commitments to strengthen
and promote coordination and
coherence of 缅北禁地system activities in
relation to the BBNJ Agreement.
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Regional Workshops (may be subject to change)
- Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Africa (information coming soon)
- Indian Ocean (including the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal), the Red Sea and Gulf of Arden and the ROPME/RECOFI area (information coming soon)
- North-East and South-East Asia (16 to 20 September 2024, Bangkok, Thailand, hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific)
- Pacific (8 to 11 July 2024, Suva, Fiji, in cooperation with the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner)
- Latin America (information coming soon)
- Caribbean small island developing States (information coming soon)
-
Briefings
- Overview
of the BBNJ Agreement (English,
French,
Spanish)
- BBNJ deep dive series (Schedule):
- Marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits, under the BBNJ Agreement
(English,
French,
Spanish)
-
Measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, under the BBNJ Agreement (English, French,
Spanish)
- Environmental impact assessments under the BBNJ Agreement (English, French, Spanish)
- Capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology under the BBNJ Agreement (coming soon)
Register through the links below by 5 July 2024 to attend the briefing
- Register to attend the briefing in English:
- Inscrivez-vous pour la session d'information en fran鏰is:
- Reg韘trese aqu� para la sesi髇 informativa en espa駉l:
- Cross-cutting issues under the BBNJ Agreement (English,
French, Spanish)
- Side
Events
- Leveraging
the BBNJ Agreement in
support of resilient
prosperity in SIDS,
a at the
first Preparatory Committee
Meeting for the Fourth
International Conference on
Small Island Developing
States (SIDS4), New York,
United States of America,
22-26 January 2024
- The
BBNJ Agreement and its
Linkages with the CMS,
a at the
fourteenth Meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to
the Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory
Species of Wild Animals (CMS
COP14), Samarkand,
Uzbekistan, 12-17 February
2024
- Stepping
Together Toward
Ratification and
Implementation of the
BBNJ Agreement,
a Multilateral Environmental
Agreement day (MEA) at the
sixth Session of the United
Nations Environment Assembly
(UNEA-6), Nairobi, Kenya, 26
February - 1 March 2024
- The BBNJ
Agreement and its linkages
with the Ocean Decade (Programme),
a at 2024
Ocean Decade Conference,
Barcelona, Spain, 10-12
April 2024
- Towards living in harmony with the ocean from coasts to areas beyond national jurisdiction: Synergies between the BBNJ Agreement and the work under the CBD,
a at the twenty-sixth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD SBSTTA-26), Nairobi, Kenya, 13-18 May 2024
- Leveraging UNCLOS and the BBNJ Agreement in support of resilient prosperity in SIDS,
a at the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4), St John's, Antigua and Barbuda, 27-30 May 2024
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Factsheets
- Overview of the BBNJ Agreement
- Marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits, under the BBNJ Agreement (coming soon)
- Measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, under the BBNJ Agreement (coming soon)
- Environmental impact assessments under the BBNJ Agreement (coming soon)
- Capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology under the BBNJ Agreement (coming soon)
- Cross-cutting issues under the BBNJ Agreement (coming soon)
- Initial
survey of capacity-building and
technical assistance needs
- Letter
dated 11 January 2024 from the
Under-Secretary-General for
Legal Affairs and United
Nations Legal Counsel, and the
Chief Executive Officer of the
Global Environment Facility,
addressed to all Permanent
Missions of Member States and
Permanent Observer Missions to
the United Nations
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Compilation of results from the initial survey of capacity-building and technical assistance needs in relation to BBNJ Agreement
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Secretariat contact
For more information, please contact
the Division for Ocean Affairs and
the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal
Affairs, United Nations (doalos@un.org).
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