The European Union and six of its member states have ratified the treaty to protect the high seas, 10 days ahead of France hosting the UN Ocean Conference in Nice. However, the treaty is still far short of the 60 ratifications required for it to come into force.
Ratification of the treaty's text – first adopted in June 2023 after years of negotiations – was a "historic step towards protecting the world's oceans and preserving the delicate balance of our planet's ecosystem," said Costas Kadis, the European Union oceans commissioner.
Along with the EU, Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal and Slovenia submitted their instruments of ratification to the United Nations, the European mission to the UN said in a statement.
France and Spain ratified the text earlier this year.
With the number of ratifications now standing at 29, Kadis called on all countries to follow suit – as the treaty is still far short of the 60 required for it to come into force.
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Political pressure
The NGO High Seas Alliance hailed the ratifications as a "major step forward".
But treaty supporters "need to up the political pressure to reach 60 ratifications," its director Rebecca Hubbard said in a statement.
France is hosting the UN Ocean Conference from 9 to 13 June in Nice, and its "number one" priority is to obtain the ratifications needed, Jerome Bonnafont, the French ambassador to the UN, said this week.
France pushes for action as high seas treaty hangs in the balance
The landmark treaty aims to protect marine ecosystems, which are vital to humanity but under threat from multiple forms of pollution – in international waters covering almost half the planet.
It provides for the creation of marine protected areas where certain activities could be restricted, including fishing and mining – a move which will depend on other international organisations.
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(with AFP)
