Sri Lanka has officially signed the agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) at the UN headquarters in New York.
The agreement, negotiated by the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity, was adopted on June 19, 2023, and falls under UNCLOS. With this signing, Sri Lanka becomes the 109th signatory, while 17 countries have ratified it so far, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism.
Following the signing, the Sri Lankan government will establish an Inter-Ministerial Committee to oversee the ratification process and implementation of the agreement’s provisions. This committee will also coordinate the drafting of necessary domestic legislation with international assistance to facilitate early ratification.
By joining the BBNJ Agreement, Sri Lanka is set to benefit from capacity-building projects, technology transfer, and knowledge-sharing opportunities to advance marine conservation efforts. The signing also reaffirms Sri Lanka’s commitment to UNCLOS and global ocean governance through multilateral cooperation.
