Honored to sign today the historic Agreement under #1982UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Manalo is in New York City to lead the Philippine delegation to the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week from Sept. 18 to 26. The UN’s 193 member-states, including the Philippines, in June ratified the legally binding marine biodiversity agreement under its own domestic process. The High Seas Treaty comes into force after 60 countries have ratified it.
The high seas are defined as the ocean area starting beyond countries’ exclusive economic zones, or 200 nautical miles off coastlines – covering nearly half the planet.