The United Kingdom was finally able to deposit its instruments of ratification of the Treaty on the High Seas to the United Nations. Being one of the first signatory states of the 2023 text, London had to put in place its own law allowing it to get involved in such an international agreement.
It is the 91st state to ratify the Biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction agreement, called BBNJ, which came into force in January. The United Kingdom deposited the instruments of ratification in New York at the headquarters of the United Nations on July 10.
He was among the first to sign the agreement in 2023 and has since put in place laws allowing him to align with the legal requirements of the treaty, according to the Constitutional reform and governance act (Crag). The law was passed in February 2026.
« Strong changes in meaning »
The United Kingdom played a fundamental role in sculpting the text for more than a decade
and can now fully invest in the implementation of the agreement
, recalls London in its statement announcing the ratification.
This commitment will lead us towards strong changes of meaning
, says British Minister of the Sea, Emma Hardy, who insists on the ambition to protect 30% of the globe’s waters by 2030 by creating Marine Protected Areas, but also on the sharing of marine biological data provided for by the BBNJ.
The first Cop Océan, which will take place in January 2027, will make it possible to realize the objectives by setting up as a binding framework.
source : le marin
