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 was adopted in New York on 19 June 2023 by the Intergovernmental Conference (further resumed fifth session). UNTC: New York. It is not UNCLOS of 1982, of which it is the third implementing agreement. Article 65: open for signature at United Nations Headquarters from 20 September 2023 until 20 September 2025. Article 76: the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic. Depositary: the Secretary-General of the United Nations (Article 75).

Article 2: the objective is the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, through implementation of UNCLOS and further cooperation. Article 3: the Agreement applies to those areas. The preamble recalls the obligation to protect the marine environment and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. A boarding, impact-assessment or exploitation handbook is not transcribed.

Four pillars, at framework level: marine genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits; area-based management tools, including marine protected areas; environmental impact assessments; capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology. The Conference of the Parties oversees implementation. Annex I criteria are not set out here as a designation manual.

Article 66: ratification, approval, acceptance or accession; instruments are deposited with the Secretary-General. Article 68: it enters into force 120 days after the sixtieth instrument. UNTC: 17 January 2026. Article 69: provisional application by written notification to the depositary.

Cover: the United Nations Secretariat in New York, the conference seat; we do not claim the hall. Wikimedia Commons, free licence.

Sources consulted: High Seas Treaty; BBNJ Agreement (United Nations).