Secretariat of the BBNJ Agreement
Article 50 of 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) establishes a secretariat, and provides that the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement, at its first meeting, shall make arrangements for the functioning of the secretariat, including deciding on its seat.
The secretariat will perform various functions set out in the Agreement, including:
Providing administrative and logistical support to the Conference of the Parties and its subsidiary bodies for the purposes of the implementation of this Agreement;
Arranging and servicing the meetings of the Conference of the Parties and of any other bodies as may be established under this Agreement or by the Conference of the Parties;
Circulating information relating to the implementation of this Agreement in a timely manner, including making decisions of the Conference of the Parties publicly available and transmitting them to all Parties, as well as to relevant legal instruments and frameworks and relevant global, regional, subregional and sectoral bodies;
Facilitating cooperation and coordination, as appropriate, with the secretariats of other relevant international bodies and, in particular, enter into such administrative and contractual arrangements as may be required for that purpose and for the effective discharge of its functions, subject to approval by the Conference of the Parties;
Preparing reports on the execution of its functions under the Agreement and submitting them to the Conference of the Parties;
Providing assistance with the implementation of the Agreement and performing such other functions as may be determined by the Conference of the Parties or assigned to it under the Agreement.
Interim Secretariat
The Agreement also provides that until such time as the secretariat commences its functions, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, through the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs (DOALOS) of the United Nations Secretariat, shall perform the secretariat functions under the Agreement.
In of 1 August 2023, the General Assembly approved the assumption by the Secretary-General of the functions assigned to him under the Agreement, including the depositary functions and the performance of the secretariat functions under the Agreement until such time as the secretariat to be established under article 50 of the Agreement commences its functions.
Contact Us
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, DC2 Fourth Floor, United Nations, New York, NY 10017, USA
Telephone: +1 (212) 963-3962
Fax: +1 (917) 367-0560
Email: DOALOS