Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction / BBNJ Agreement
20 februari 2025
In its resolution 77/248 on “Oceans and the law of the sea”, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to convene the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
In its resolution 72/249 of 24 December 2017, the General Assembly decided to convene an Intergovernmental Conference, under the auspices of the United Nations, to consider the recommendations of the Preparatory Committee established by resolution 69/292 of 19 June 2015 on the elements and to elaborate the text of an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, with a view to developing the instrument as soon as possible. In accordance with resolution 72/249, the Conference held a three-day organizational meeting in New York, from 16 to 18 April 2018, to discuss organizational matters, including the process for the preparation of the zero draft of the instrument. The first session was convened from 4 to 17 September 2018, the second session from 25 March to 5 April 2019 and the third session from 19 to 30 August 2019. The fourth session, which was postponed by decisions 74/543 and 75/570 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, was convened from 7 to 18 March 2022. A fifth session of the Conference was convened from 15 to 26 August 2022 pursuant to General Assembly decision 76/564 (available as A/76/L.46).
On the last day of that session, the Conference, in considering the way forward, decided to suspend the fifth session and resume it at a later date to be determined. Pursuant to resolution 77/248 of the General Assembly, the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Conference met from 20 February to 3 March 2023. At the end of that meeting, the Conference decided to resume at a later date with a view to adopting the agreement. In this connection, the General Assembly, in its decision 77/556 of 18 April 2023 (currently available as document A/77/L.62), requested the Secretary-General to convene a further resumed fifth session of the conference on 19 and 20 June 2023, tentatively, or on a date to be determined in consultation with the President of the conference. Accordingly, the further resumed fifth session was held at UN Headquarters in New York on 19 and 20 June 2023. On 19 June 2023, the Conference adopted, by consensus, the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (A/CONF.232/2023/4). The Conference was closed on 20 June 2023.
The Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction or BBNJ Agreement, commonly known as the High Seas Treaty, is a legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. There is some controversy over the popularized name of the agreement. It is an agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The text was finalised during an intergovernmental conference at the UN on 4 March 2023 and adopted on 19 June 2023. Both states and regional economic integration organizations can become parties to the Agreement. In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted to convene an intergovernmental conference (IGC) to consider establishing an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). This was considered necessary because UNCLOS did not provide a framework for areas beyond national jurisdiction. There was a particular concern for marine biodiversity and the impact of overfishing on global fish stocks and ecosystem stability. The treaty addresses four themes:
The area-based management tools and environmental impact assessments relate mainly to conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, while the marine genetic resources and capacity building and transfer of marine technology include issues of economic justice and equity. Greenpeace called it “the biggest conservation victory ever”. The main achievement is the new possibility to create marine protected areas in international waters. By doing so the agreement now makes it possible to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030 (part of the 30 by 30 target). Though the agreement does not directly address climate change, it also serves as a step towards protecting the ecosystems that store carbon in sediments. The High Seas Treaty has 76 articles and two annexes. One of its main aims is “s stewards of the ocean in areas beyond national jurisdiction on behalf of present and future generations by protecting, caring for and ensuring responsible use of the marine environment, maintaining the integrity of ocean ecosystems and conserving the inherent value of biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction”.
The Agreement recognizes traditional knowledge. It has articles regarding the “polluter-pays” principle, and different impacts of human activities including areas beyond the national jurisdiction of the countries making those activities. The agreement was adopted by the 193 United Nations Member States. Before entering into force, the treaty needed to be ratified by at least 60 UN member states. The former treaty, UNCLOS, was adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994. As of October 2024, UNCLOS has 170 parties. The European Union pledged financial support for the process of ratification and implementation of the treaty. On 19 September 2025, Morocco became the 60th country to ratify the agreement, setting the stage for its entry into force on January 17, 2026.
In its resolution 77/248 on “Oceans and the law of the sea”, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to convene the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
In its resolution 72/249 of 24 December 2017, the General Assembly decided to convene an Intergovernmental Conference, under the auspices of the United Nations, to consider the recommendations of the Preparatory Committee established by resolution 69/292 of 19 June 2015 on the elements and to elaborate the text of an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, with a view to developing the instrument as soon as possible. In accordance with resolution 72/249, the Conference held a three-day organizational meeting in New York, from 16 to 18 April 2018, to discuss organizational matters, including the process for the preparation of the zero draft of the instrument. The first session was convened from 4 to 17 September 2018, the second session from 25 March to 5 April 2019 and the third session from 19 to 30 August 2019. The fourth session, which was postponed by decisions 74/543 and 75/570 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, was convened from 7 to 18 March 2022. A fifth session of the Conference was convened from 15 to 26 August 2022 pursuant to General Assembly decision 76/564 (available as A/76/L.46).
On the last day of that session, the Conference, in considering the way forward, decided to suspend the fifth session and resume it at a later date to be determined. Pursuant to resolution 77/248 of the General Assembly, the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Conference met from 20 February to 3 March 2023. At the end of that meeting, the Conference decided to resume at a later date with a view to adopting the agreement. In this connection, the General Assembly, in its decision 77/556 of 18 April 2023 (currently available as document A/77/L.62), requested the Secretary-General to convene a further resumed fifth session of the conference on 19 and 20 June 2023, tentatively, or on a date to be determined in consultation with the President of the conference. Accordingly, the further resumed fifth session was held at UN Headquarters in New York on 19 and 20 June 2023. On 19 June 2023, the Conference adopted, by consensus, the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (A/CONF.232/2023/4). The Conference was closed on 20 June 2023.
The Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction or BBNJ Agreement, commonly known as the High Seas Treaty, is a legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. There is some controversy over the popularized name of the agreement. It is an agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The text was finalised during an intergovernmental conference at the UN on 4 March 2023 and adopted on 19 June 2023. Both states and regional economic integration organizations can become parties to the Agreement. In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted to convene an intergovernmental conference (IGC) to consider establishing an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). This was considered necessary because UNCLOS did not provide a framework for areas beyond national jurisdiction. There was a particular concern for marine biodiversity and the impact of overfishing on global fish stocks and ecosystem stability. The treaty addresses four themes:
(1) marine genetic resources (MGRs) and their digital sequence information, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits;
(2) area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs); (3) environmental impact assessments (EIAs);
(4) capacity building and transfer of marine technology (CB&TMT).
The area-based management tools and environmental impact assessments relate mainly to conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, while the marine genetic resources and capacity building and transfer of marine technology include issues of economic justice and equity. Greenpeace called it “the biggest conservation victory ever”. The main achievement is the new possibility to create marine protected areas in international waters. By doing so the agreement now makes it possible to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030 (part of the 30 by 30 target). Though the agreement does not directly address climate change, it also serves as a step towards protecting the ecosystems that store carbon in sediments. The High Seas Treaty has 76 articles and two annexes. One of its main aims is “s stewards of the ocean in areas beyond national jurisdiction on behalf of present and future generations by protecting, caring for and ensuring responsible use of the marine environment, maintaining the integrity of ocean ecosystems and conserving the inherent value of biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction”.
The Agreement recognizes traditional knowledge. It has articles regarding the “polluter-pays” principle, and different impacts of human activities including areas beyond the national jurisdiction of the countries making those activities. The agreement was adopted by the 193 United Nations Member States. Before entering into force, the treaty needed to be ratified by at least 60 UN member states. The former treaty, UNCLOS, was adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994. As of October 2024, UNCLOS has 170 parties. The European Union pledged financial support for the process of ratification and implementation of the treaty. On 19 September 2025, Morocco became the 60th country to ratify the agreement, setting the stage for its entry into force on January 17, 2026.
Links:
Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
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