Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of negotiating a universal declaration of ocean rights.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides the overarching legal framework for the governance of the ocean. Numerous other agreements at a global and regional level add greater detail. These cover issues including shipping and safety, fishing, and environmental protection. The draft text of an international legally binding instrument under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction - the BBNJ Agreement - was agreed at the UN in March. This is a landmark agreement for biodiversity and will mean much greater protection for over 60 per cent of the global ocean. It is unclear what added value a universal declaration of ocean rights would achieve.