A/RES/68/70
Oceans and the law of the sea
Emphasizing the universal and unified character of the Convention, and
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 21,7
Recognizing the important contribution of sustainable development and
management of the resources and uses of the oceans and seas to the achievement of
international development goals, including those contained in the United Nations
Millennium Declaration, 8
Noting with satisfaction that, in the outcome document of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to
22 June 2012, entitled “The future we want”, 9 as endorsed by the General Assembly
in resolution 66/288 of 27 July 2012, States recognized that oceans, seas and coastal
areas form an integrated and essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem and are
critical to sustaining it, and that international law, as reflected in the Convention,
provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans
and their resources, and stressed the importance of the conservation and sustainable
use of the oceans and seas and of their resources for sustainable development,
including through their contributions to poverty eradication, sustained economic
growth, food security and creation of sustainable livelihoods and decent work, while
at the same time protecting biodiversity and the marine environment and addressing
the impacts of climate change,
Reiterating the importance of oceans and seas for sustainable development,
and noting, taking into account the different positions of Member States, that the
Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals established by the General
Assembly 10 will consider the issue of oceans and seas at its eighth session,
Recalling that, in “The future we want”, States underscored that broad public
participation and access to information and judicial and administrative proceedings
were essential to the promotion of sustainable development and that sustainable
development required the meaningful involvement and active participation of
regional, national and subnational legislatures and judiciaries, and all major groups,
and, in this regard, that they agreed to work more closely with major groups and
other stakeholders and encouraged their active participation, as appropriate, in
processes that contribute to decision-making, planning and implementation of
policies and programmes for sustainable development at all levels,
Conscious that the problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need
to be considered as a whole through an integrated, interdisciplinary and intersectoral
approach, and reaffirming the need to improve cooperation and coordination at the
national, regional and global levels, in accordance with the Convention, to support
and supplement the efforts of each State in promoting the implementation and
observance of the Convention and the integrated management and sustainable
development of the oceans and seas,
_______________
7
Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3–14 June
1992, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and
corrigendum), resolution 1, annex II.
8
Resolution 55/2.
9
Resolution 66/288, annex.
10
See decision 67/555.
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