June 3, 2024 (New York, FSMUN) – In a brief ceremony today, Ambassador Jeem S. Lippwe, the Permanent Representative of FSM to the United Nations in New York, deposited FSM’s instrument of ratification for the Agreement 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 (“BBNJ Agreement”). The instrument was received by the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares.
FSM had actively participated in the negotiations of the BBNJ Agreement, starting in the Preparatory Committee. During the Intergovernmental Conference, FSM coordinated the Pacific Small Island Developing States on Area-Based Management Tools, including Marine Protected Areas, and also served as a member of the bureau of the Conference.
On 20 September 2023, President Simina was the first world leader to sign the treaty. Today’s deposit of the instrument of ratification makes FSM the seventh country to do so. Both Ambassador Lippwe and the Legal Counsel expressed their hope that other countries would follow soon. Work now shifts towards implementation. The UN General Assembly has set up a Preparatory Commission to lay the groundwork ahead of entry into force of the treaty. The Preparatory Commission will have its organizational meeting in late June of 2024.