United Nations
General Assembly
A/RES/59/24
Distr.: General
4 February 2005
Fifty-ninth session
Agenda item 49 (a)
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 17 November 2004
[without reference to a Main Committee (A/59/L.22 and Add.1)]
59/24. Oceans and the law of the sea
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 49/28 of 6 December 1994, 52/26 of 26 November
1997, 54/33 of 24 November 1999, 57/141 of 12 December 2002, 58/240 of
23 December 2003 and other relevant resolutions adopted subsequent to the entry
into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“the
Convention”) 1 on 16 November 1994,
Emphasizing the universal and unified character of the Convention and its
fundamental importance for the maintenance and strengthening of international
peace and security, as well as for the sustainable development of the oceans and
seas,
Reaffirming that the Convention sets out the legal framework within which all
activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out and is of strategic importance as
the basis for national, regional and global action and cooperation in the marine
sector, and that its integrity needs to be maintained, as recognized also by the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in chapter 17 of
Agenda 21, 2
Noting with satisfaction the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the
Convention on 16 November 2004, and recognizing the pre-eminent contribution
provided by the Convention to the strengthening of peace, security, cooperation and
friendly relations among all nations in conformity with the principles of justice and
equal rights and to the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all
peoples of the world, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United
Nations as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations,
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1
See The Law of the Sea: Official Texts of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of
10 December 1982 and of the Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 with Index and Excerpts from the Final Act of the
Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.97.V.10).
2
Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3–14 June
1992 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigenda), vol. I: Resolutions adopted by the
Conference, resolution 1, annex II.
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