UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PLENARY DEBATE ON OCEANS AND LAW OF THE SEA
STATEMENT BY H. E. JAMES LARSEN, AMBASSADOR AND PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE, AUSTRALIAN MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS
10 December 2024
As delivered
Thank you, President.
Australia aligns itself with the statement delivered by the Kingdom of Tonga on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum members.
We make these additional remarks in our national capacity.
16 November marked 30 years since the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – the constitution of the ocean.
This year’s resolution on oceans and the law of the sea continues to affirm the General Assembly’s steadfast support for the centrality of the Convention – for its universal and unified character as the comprehensive legal framework for all activities in the ocean and seas.
The Convention provides the very foundation for a stable, peaceful, predictable, and open maritime domain.
President,
All of us in this Hall rely on the Convention – and compliance with its rules and norms – for our prosperity and security.
This is why we must all defend these rules and work collectively to tackle the challenges facing us in the maritime sphere.
I would like to highlight the following key points:
First, we must ensure that when disputes arise, they are resolved peacefully in accordance with the rules; not by force, power or coercion.
The Indo-Pacific region has a rich history of resolving maritime disputes peacefully in accordance with the Convention.
Today, this legacy is more important than ever in the South China Sea.
Australia maintains that all maritime claims must be made in accordance with the Convention.
Principles of general international law do not displace the Convention and cannot be relied upon in such a way.
States must also be able to exercise their lawful rights and freedoms under the Convention without coercion or harassment. This includes undertaking legitimate activities in waters in which they enjoy sovereignty, or sovereign rights and jurisdiction. It also includes exercising freedoms of navigation and overflight and rights of innocent passage and archipelagic sea lanes passage.
We are seriously concerned by aggressive and dangerous conduct in the South China Sea, particularly over the past year, including for the purpose of exerting excessive maritime claims that are inconsistent with UNCLOS.
Such conduct endangers peace and security in the region, threatens lives and livelihoods, creates serious risks of miscalculation or accident, and undermines commitments to de-escalate tensions.
Australia will continue to call for restraint and reiterates that the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award is final and legally binding on the parties.
Second, as we face the immense and interconnected challenges of the triple planetary crisis – climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution – we must protect the ocean and marine environment.
Climate change is an urgent global challenge and the greatest shared threat to all countries.
Australia recognises the important leadership of Small Island States, including Pacific Island States, in shaping global responses to climate change.
Australia is committed to aligning efforts to safeguard ocean and coastal communities and ecosystems, and our collective future, as called for by the Friends of the Ocean and Climate at COP29, led by Fiji.
We welcome the advisory opinion of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, delivered on 21 May, an initiative led by Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu as co-chairs of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law.
The advisory opinion has made an important contribution to clarifying the obligations of States to protect and preserve the marine environment from the impacts of climate change.
Australia is also proud to participate in the advisory proceedings before the International Court of Justice on the obligations of States in respect of climate change, originally proposed by Vanuatu.
Australia commends the attention that States have given to climate change-related sea-level rise this year, including during the General Assembly High Level Meeting in September.
We welcome the engagement on the 2021 Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the Face of Climate Change-related Sea-Level Rise, and the 2023 PIF Declaration on Statehood and the Protection of Persons in the Face of Climate Change-related Sea-Level Rise.
We thank States that have supported the Declarations and call on others to consider doing the same.
Third, as an international community, we must continue to find consensus to address these pressing challenges.
Ocean protection requires regulation.
As a member of the International Seabed Authority Council, Australia is working to conclude a robust regulatory framework before any deep seabed mining industry goes ahead.
We encourage all Council members to support a regulatory framework that provides the strongest possible protection for the marine environment, ensures a level-playing field for the land-based mining industry, and contains robust inspection, compliance and enforcement mechanisms.
The international community demonstrated what can be achieved with the historic Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)—a resounding victory for ocean protection.
The high seas and the deep seabed amount to over two-thirds of the ocean. In addition to contributing to sustainable development, the BBNJ Agreement will deliver meaningful conservation benefits.
This will help to progress the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework commitment to protect 30 per cent of the world’s coastal and marine areas by 2030.
Australia is at the forefront of ocean protection with marine protected areas now covering more than half [52 per cent]) of Australia’s waters – more than any other country on Earth.
We stand ready to work with others to help them to achieve the Framework’s global target.
We encourage all States to work towards signature and ratification of the BBNJ Agreement and to engage constructively in its Preparatory Commission.
In conclusion, Australia is committed to working to enhance maritime security and the conservation and sustainable management of the ocean, underpinned by the Convention.
We are delighted to be co-chairing the BBNJ Preparatory Commission with Belize, as well as co-facilitating, with Cabo Verde, the political declaration for the third UN Ocean Conference in 2025, driving momentum towards SDG14.
And we are developing a Sustainable Ocean Plan incorporating the knowledge of Australia’s First Nations people. As Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia, First Nations people have a profound and enduring connection with sea Country, which is central to cultural and spiritual identity, social and economic life, and wellbeing.
Australia recognises the importance of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and of traditional knowledge in ocean conservation and sustainable use.
We draw on this knowledge and emphasise the contribution of Indigenous Peoples in addressing regional and global ocean challenges.
President,
Australia is proud once again to co-sponsor this resolution.
Thank you.