Global Issues: Oceans and the Law of the Sea

The oceans gave rise to life itself. 140 million square miles, or over 72% of the surface of the Earth, are covered by the ocean. For the life it helped create, the ocean has always been a significant source of sustenance. From the beginning of recorded history, it has also facilitated trade and commerce, exploration, and discovery. People have been drawn together and torn apart by it.

The majority of people on the planet still live within 200 miles of the sea and have intimate ties to it, even though the continents have been surveyed and their innards have been made accessible by land, water, and air.

The freedom-of-the-seas theory, which was proposed in the 17th century and basically restricted sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the oceans to a narrow sea belt encircling a nation's coastline, had long applied to the oceans. The remaining waters were deemed to belong to no one and be free for all. While this position persisted throughout the 20th century, there was a push to expand national rights over offshore resources by the middle of the century.

Long-distance fishing fleets' impact on coastal fish stocks and the threat of pollution and waste from transport ships and oil tankers that sailed marine routes around the world were both causing significant worry. Coastal resorts and all marine life have always been under risk from pollution. The maritime nations' navies were vying for a global presence in surface waters and even deep ocean.

The goal of the United Nations is to ensure that the seas and oceans are used for both individual and collective human benefit in a peaceful, cooperative, and legally defined manner. A 15-year process that saw the establishment of the United Nations Seabed Committee, the signing of a treaty prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons on the seafloor, the adoption of the General Assembly's resolution declaring that all seabed resources outside of the scope of national jurisdiction are the common heritage of mankind, and the convening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

The Law of the Sea Convention, which was adopted by the UN in 1982, was a game-changer in the way that the vast, shared water resources of our planet came under the purview of international law. Several significant disputes relating to ocean usage and sovereignty have been resolved by the treaty, including:

The main United Nations organization responsible for advancing international marine law is the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Its primary duty is to develop a just and practical legislative framework for the shipping sector that is widely embraced and applied.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has implemented regulations to address air pollution emissions from ships and has adopted legally binding energy-efficiency measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping in order to ensure that shipping is cleaner and greener. These include the important 1954 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil and the 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, as amended by a 1978 Protocol (MARPOL).

The Polar Code, also known as the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters, went into effect in 2017. The entire range of design, construction, equipment, operational, training, search and rescue, and environmental protection issues pertinent to ships operating in the unfriendly waters surrounding the two poles are covered by the Polar Code. Along with a number of other regulatory advances pertaining to marine and supply chain security, environmental concerns, and trade facilitation, it was a significant regulatory development in the field of transportation and trade facilitation.

Piracy has increased significantly over the past few years in the Gulf of Guinea and off the coast of Somalia. Attacks by pirates pose a threat to the safety of mariners, as well as to business and navigation. These criminal activities may lead to the loss of life, physical harm or hostage-taking of seafarers, significant interruptions in trade and navigation, financial losses for shipowners, increased insurance premiums and security expenses, increased costs for consumers and producers, and harm to the marine environment.

Attacks by pirates can have a wide range of effects, such as impeding humanitarian aid and raising the price of upcoming shipments to the impacted communities. Additional resolutions have been approved by the IMO and UN to supplement the Law of the Sea Convention's prohibitions on piracy.

Through its Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) fights transnational organized crime in Africa with a particular emphasis on preventing piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and Horn of Africa. The initiative has assisted states in the region by holding piracy suspects accountable in court and imprisoning them, as well as through facilitating training programs to build maritime law enforcement capacities. The UNODC GMCP has achieved several victories in a difficult context, from the pirate prosecution model, prisoner transfers, and training of members in the court system of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, to full-time mentorship to coast guards and police units in Somalia, Kenya, and Ghana. This has been made possible by a number of initiatives that support maritime safety while enhancing the rule of law and judicial systems in the respective nations.