A/RES/63/111. Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, 2008

Resolution NumberA/RES/63/111
Session63rd
IssuerGeneral Assembly of the United Nation
United Nations A/RES/63/111
General Assembly Distr.: General
12 February 2009
Sixty-third session
Agenda item 70 (a)
08-47745
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 5 December 2008
[without reference to a Main Committee (A/63/L.42 and Add.1)]
63/111. Oceans and the law of the sea
The General Assembly
,
Recalling
its annual resolutions on the law of the sea and on oceans and the
law of the sea, including resolution 62/215 of 22 December 2007, and other relevant
resolutions concerning the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“the
Convention”),
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1
Having considered
the report of the Secretary-General,
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the joint statement of
the Co-Chairpersons of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study
issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity
beyond areas of national jurisdiction (“the Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working
Group”)
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and also the reports on the work of the United Nations Open-ended
Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (“the Consultative
Process”) at its ninth meeting
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and on the eighteenth Meeting of States Parties to the
Convention,
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Emphasizing
the pre-eminent contribution provided by the Convention to the
strengthening of peace, security, cooperation and friendly relations among all
nations in conformity with the principles of justice and equal rights and to the
promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples of the world, in
accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations as set forth in the
Charter of the United Nations, as well as to the sustainable development of the
oceans and seas,
Emphasizing also
the universal and unified character of the Convention, and
reaffirming that the Convention sets out the legal framework within which all
activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out and is of strategic importance as
the basis for national, regional and global action and cooperation in the marine
sector, and that its integrity needs to be maintained, as recognized also by the
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1 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1833, No. 31363.
2 A/63/63 and Add.1.
3 A/63/79 and Corr.1, annex.
4 A/63/174 and Corr.1.
5 SPLOS/184.
A/RES/63/111
2
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in chapter 17 of
Agenda 21,
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Recognizing
the important contribution of sustainable development and
management of the resources and uses of the oceans and seas to the achievement of
international development goals, including those contained in the United Nations
Millennium Declaration,
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Conscious
that the problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need
to be considered as a whole through an integrated, interdisciplinary and intersectoral
approach, and reaffirming the need to improve cooperation and coordination at the
national, regional and global levels, in accordance with the Convention, to support
and supplement the efforts of each State in promoting the implementation and
observance of the Convention, and the integrated management and sustainable
development of the oceans and seas,
Reiterating
the essential need for cooperation, including through capacity-
building and transfer of marine technology, to ensure that all States, especially
developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island
developing States, as well as coastal African States, are able both to implement the
Convention and to benefit from the sustainable development of the oceans and seas,
as well as to participate fully in global and regional forums and processes dealing
with oceans and law of the sea issues,
Emphasizing
the need to strengthen the ability of competent international
organizations to contribute, at the global, regional, subregional and bilateral levels,
through cooperation programmes with Governments, to the development of national
capacity in marine science and the sustainable management of the oceans and their
resources,
Recalling
that marine science is important for eradicating poverty, contributing
to food security, conserving the world’s marine environment and resources, helping
to understand, predict and respond to natural events and promoting the sustainable
development of the oceans and seas, by improving knowledge, through sustained
research efforts and the evaluation of monitoring results, and applying such
knowledge to management and decision-making,
Recalling also
its decision, in resolutions 57/141 of 12 December 2002 and
58/240 of 23 December 2003, to establish a regular process under the United Nations
for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment,
including socio-economic aspects, both current and foreseeable, building on existing
regional assessments, as recommended by the World Summit on Sustainable
Development,
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and noting the need for cooperation among all States to this end,
Reiterating its concern
at the adverse impacts on the marine environment and
biodiversity, in particular on vulnerable marine ecosystems, including corals, of
human activities, such as overutilization of living marine resources, the use of
destructive practices, physical impacts by ships, the introduction of invasive alien
species and marine pollution from all sources, including from land-based sources
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6 Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3–14 June
1992, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and
corrigendum), resolution 1, annex II.
7 See resolution 55/2.
8 See Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August–4 September
2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.II.A.1 and corrigendum), chap. I, resolution 2, annex.

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