Recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations on an international legally-binding instrument 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

Background and further information:

The UN General Assembly, in its Resolution 68/70, requested the UN Ad-Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group (the "UN BBNJ Working Group") to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction to make recommendations on the scope, parameters and feasibility of an international instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS").

Building on its work since 2006, the UN BBNJ Working Group adopted recommendations at its final meeting in January 2015, which stressed the need for a comprehensive global regime to better address the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction through the development of an international legally-binding instrument under the UNCLOS.

As a Party to the UNCLOS and one of the main proponents for the need for such an instrument since the commencement of discussions at the UN, the EU should continue to actively participate in this process, thereby contributing to better conservation and sustainable use of marine biological resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction within the legal framework constituted by the UNCLOS. The EU should also ensure that provisions are included enabling it to become a Party to this instrument.

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