General Assembly: Oceans and the Law of the Sea – Item 75

President,

New Zealand aligns with the statement delivered by Solomon Islands on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum Members in New York, and makes the following statement in a national capacity.

New Zealand is again pleased to co-sponsor the General Assembly resolutions on oceans and the law of the sea, and sustainable fisheries. We wish to convey our sincere gratitude to the coordinators from Singapore and Norway, for their hard work. We also thank the Division for Oceans Affairs and the Law of the Sea for their ongoing support.

President,

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is a key pillar of the international rules-based system. It is the legal framework within which all activities in the ocean and seas must be carried out. New Zealand welcomes the reaffirmation of the Convention's central position in this year's resolution and acknowledgement of the Convention's universal and unified character.

As an island state with a large maritime zone, compliance with the obligations, and enjoyment of the rights contained in the Convention is of vital importance to the security, prosperity and sustainability of New Zealand and many others.

The Convention provides rules for the protection and preservation of the marine environment and for the sustainable use of marine resources. It sets out the legal framework for the establishment of maritime zones and the rules of freedom of navigation and overflight. And it provides for the peaceful settlement of disputes.

Observance of these rules are critical to the maintenance of the international rules-based system; ocean health; regional peace and stability; and continued unimpeded access to shipping and air routes for our trade.

President,

New Zealand recognises the need for continued action to improve ocean governance in a way that mutually reinforces other processes and the foundational nature of UNCLOS.

In this regard, New Zealand is a long-standing supporter of the BBNJ Agreement. We welcome the BBNJ Agreement's upcoming entry into force and we encourage every effort to ensure its effective implementation. We are grateful for the leadership provided by Australia and Belize in chairing the BBNJ preparatory commission process and look forward to the third session in March next year.

President,

New Zealand joins other states in welcoming the 2025 sustainable fisheries resolution. Commitments in this resolution, when implemented effectively, have an important impact on the long-term sustainability of our ocean and fisheries. New Zealand was pleased that this year's resolution includes new important references to the OECD recommendation on eliminating government support to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission's new binding measure on crew labour standards.

President,

Sea-level rise and climate change pose grave threats to small island developing states and low-lying communities around the world, especially in our Pacific region.

New Zealand reiterates the approach of the Pacific region to the issue of legal stability and sea-level rise, as recorded in the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' 2021 Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the Face of Climate Change-Related Sea-Level Rise and the 2023 Declaration on the Continuity of Statehood and Protection of Persons in the Face of Climate Change-Related Sea-Level Rise.

The 2021 Declaration emphasises the primacy of UNCLOS as the constitution for the ocean and sets out our collective position that maritime zones established in accordance with UNCLOS shall continue to apply, notwithstanding any physical change connected to climate change-related sea-level rise.

The 2023 Declaration recognises that international law supports a presumption of continuity of statehood and that international law does not contemplate the demise of statehood in the context of climate change related sea-level rise.

These positions have been endorsed by the International Law Commission in its final report of the Study Group on sea-level rise in relation to international law, and by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion on obligations of states regarding climate change.

We are grateful for the wide and growing support that the Declarations have received, and we remain committed to working with the international community to take this important work forward, including in the work of the General Assembly in 2026.

President,

New Zealand reaffirms the mandate of the International Seabed Authority under the Convention. We reiterate that exploitation activities in the Area should only take place pursuant to robust ISA regulations that ensure the effective protection of the marine environment, as required by the Convention. New Zealand stresses the need for members of the Authority to cooperate to conclude and adopt such regulations as swiftly as possible.

President,

This year New Zealand was pleased to join the declaration made at this year's third UN Ocean Conference. We again express our gratitude to France and Costa Rica as co-hosts of the successful Conference in Nice. The declaration was an important statement of our collective commitment to address challenges facing our ocean, which we must all continue to meet.

I thank you

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