Pursuant to article 47, paragraph 2, of 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 (the Agreement), the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement shall be convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations no later than one year after the entry into force of the Agreement.
In General Assembly resolution 80/107, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to convene the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement by 17 January 2027, on dates and for a duration to be determined in consultation with the Co-Chairs and the Bureau of the Preparatory Commission established pursuant to resolution 78/272. Following the afore-mentioned consultations and as announced during the third session of the Preparatory Commission in March 2026, the Secretary-General will convene the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement from 11 to 22 January 2027 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
At its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties will consider, among others, the documents contained in annexes I to X to the report of the Preparatory Commission (), which the Preparatory Commission recommended for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its first meeting.