After more than fifteen years of discussions, UN member states agree on a treaty to protect the high seas

The member states of the UN finally agreed on Saturday March 4 on the first international treaty to protect the high seas, intended to counter the threats to ecosystems vital to humanity. “The ship has reached the shore”Conference President Rena Lee announced at UN headquarters in New York on Saturday, to prolonged applause from delegates.

>> Biodiversity, resources, climate… The challenges of the treaty on the protection of the high seas, negotiated at the United Nations

After more than 15 years of discussions, including four years of formal negotiations, the third “last” session in New York was finally the right one, or almost. Delegates finalized the text, but it will be formally adopted at a later date after it has been vetted by legal services and translated for availability in the six official UN languages.

The finalized text

The exact content of the text was not immediately released, but activists hailed it as a watershed moment for biodiversity protection. “It is a historic day for conservation and a sign that in a divided world, the protection of nature and people can triumph over geopolitics”, said Laura Meller, a member of Greenpeace. After two weeks of intense discussions, including a marathon session on Friday night to Saturday, delegates finalized a text that can no longer be significantly changed. “There will be no reopening or substantive discussions” on this issue, Rena Lee told the negotiators.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated delegates, according to one of his spokespersons, who said the deal is a “victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends that threaten the health of the oceans, today and for generations to come”. The high seas begin where the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the States end, ie at a maximum of 370 km from the coast, and are therefore not under the jurisdiction of any State.