Governments will meet at the United Nations HQ in New York this week to work on the UN Ocean Treaty, for the first time since it opened for signatures in September 2023. The Conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction treaty, also commonly known as the BBNJ or High Seas Treaty, was adopted in 2023.  

The Preparatory Commission created to prepare for the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement and the convening of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement will hold a three-day meeting to discuss organisational matters. 

 Photo: Thierry Meier 

On 24 April 2024, the General Assembly adopted resolution 78/272, which established a Preparatory Commission to prepare for the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement and to prepare for the convening of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement. The General Assembly further decided that the Commission shall hold a three-day organizational meeting in the first half of 2024 to discuss organizational matters, including the election of the Co-Chairs and a Bureau, the dates of the meetings of the Commission, and the programme of work of the Commission. 

Once the Global Ocean Treaty enters into force there will then be a series of Ocean COPs, where governments can deliver Marine Protected Areas on the high seas, eventually reaching the target of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030. This target was agreed by all governments under the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022. 

So far seven countries have ratified the Global Ocean Treaty (Palau, Chile, Belize, Seychelles, Monaco, Mauritius, Federated States of Micronesia).  

The organisational meeting will take place from 24–26 June 2024 at UN Headquarters in New York.