No Agreement in Latest UN High Seas Talks

The latest talks among United Nations member states came to an end on Friday, August 26 with negotiators unable to thrash out a legally binding text to address the multitude of issues facing international waters – a zone that encompasses almost half the planet.

Formal and informal discussions have been continuing for some 15 years.

“Although we did make excellent progress, we still do need a little bit more time to progress towards the finish line,” AFP reported conference chair and UN oceans ambassador Rena Lee as saying.

It will now be up to the UN General Assembly to resume a fifth session of formal talks at a date still to be determined.

Many had hoped the latest session, which began on August 15 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, would finally produce an agreed text on “the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction,” or BBNJ for short.

“While it’s disappointing that the treaty wasn’t finalized during the past two weeks of negotiations, we remain encouraged by the progress that was made,” said Liz Karan with the NGO Pew Charitable Trusts, calling for a new session by the end of the year.

There had been hope that an agreement was near after world leaders at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in July promised to do everything in their power to save the world’s seas, although the closing statement at that event included few clear commitments.

The sharing of possible profits from the development of resources in international waters, remained a sensitive issue in the discussion in New York.

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