After two decades of negotiations that began in 2004, the Member States of the United Nations (UN) adopted, on 19 June 2023, the agreement on the International Treaty for the Protection of the High Seas. Ratified by more than 60 countries, it is due to enter into force on 17 January 2026.
As of 12 January 2026, the agreement on the law of the sea, the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of international waters, has been ratified by 81 countries.
What are the high seas?
The areas of the sea located outside the zones of sovereignty and the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of coastal states do not fall under national jurisdiction. They are known as the “high seas” or “international waters”.
The high seas represent:
60% of the surface of the oceans;
nearly half of the surface of the globe.
Until the conclusion of the agreement on 5 March 2023 by the delegates of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), these high seas areas had no specific protection.
Adopted on 19 June 2023 by the 193 members of the United Nations (UN), the High Seas Treaty focuses in particular on:
the protection of the marine environment beyond borders;
the fight against chemical pollution and plastic waste on the high seas;
more sustainable management of fish stocks;
the issue of rising ocean temperatures and the acidification of marine waters.
Objectives of the treaty
The aim of the treaty is to achieve the ocean-related objectives and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted at COP15.
More specifically, the objectives of the treaty are:
the definition of a regulatory framework;
the recognition of a common heritage of humankind;
the internationalization of decisions on environmental impact assessments;
the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from marine genetic resources;
the creation of marine protected areas in order to preserve, restore and maintain biodiversity;
the production of knowledge, technical innovation and scientific understanding.
The treaty is one of the tools to achieve the “30 by 30” objective, which aims to protect at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 by placing them under protected areas.
The text builds on the legacy of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
