Remarks by the President of the General Assembly?
H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock
at the 56th Plenary Meeting on Oceans and Law of the Sea
8 December 2025
[As delivered]
Excellencies,
The importance of the world¡¯s oceans is as vast as the oceans themselves. They are climate regulators, biodiversity reservoirs, engines of trade, and the foundation of fisheries.
On the one hand, we depend on oceans for our very existence; they shape our climate, sustain ecosystems, contribute to food security, and quite literally helps us breathe.
On the other hand, oceans underpin the global economy. Ninety per cent of world trade moves by sea. Trillions of dollars in goods cross our waters each year. And at the local level, hundreds of millions of people rely on the blue economy for income and nutrition.
Today, there is also an accelerating technological dimension: 99% of global internet traffic flows through submarine cables. Oceans are not only a natural resource ¡ª they are a digital one as well.
Given this indisputable importance ¡ª and the fact that more than half of the oceans¡¯ surface lies beyond national jurisdiction ¡ª it is only sensible that this institution continues to play a leading role in ocean governance.
That includes the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the ¡°Constitution of the Seas¡±, and the institutions that it created – the International Seabed Authority; the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
The Convention is based on a logic of cooperation and multilateralism: only together can we sustainably manage the oceans and seas.
Most recently, the adoption of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, in 2023, represented a historic milestone.
It is proof that even in fragmented times, we can deliver tangible progress for a common heritage of humankind. Its entry into force next January is testament to that shared resolve.
And yet, despite this robust legal and institutional framework, the challenges facing our oceans deepen.
Climate-driven acidification and sea-level rise continue to accelerate.
Marine biodiversity is under unprecedented risk.
And every year, the weight of pollution ¡ª especially plastic waste ¡ª grows heavier in our waters.
These trends are not abstract. They affect our economies, our health, our food security, and the well-being of communities in every region.
In other words: we cannot point to the agreements we have made and declare the job done. We must keep pushing ¡ª closing gaps, updating our tools, and maintaining momentum.
That is why I welcome the Secretary-General¡¯s report this year, which highlights persistent barriers to sustainable ocean use and underscores the importance of capacity building, technology transfer, and access to finance. These are essential levers to empower all Member States to address knowledge and capacity gaps.
Excellencies,
The 3rd Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Ocean Conference, held in June in Nice, generated exceptional mobilization in support of SDG 14, which remains the least-funded Sustainable Development Goal.
We need to build on this momentum today, as well as on the road to the 4th Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Ocean Conference in 2028.
Let us use these opportunities to strengthen our collective stewardship, and to reaffirm that the governance of the oceans is not merely a technical exercise, but a moral and practical imperative.
I thank you.