Belgium is officially ratifying the UN International Ocean Treaty at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice (France). Belgian minister for the North Sea Annelies Verlinden (Flemish Christan democrat) will make the case for bringing the international secretariat for the treaty to Belgium. In Nice all week world leaders are discussing how to better protect the oceans and what is needed to safeguard the services it provides. These services range from oxygen and CO2 storage to heat regulation for the planet to new medicines.
The Ocean Treaty is intended to advance the goal of protecting 30 per cent of the oceans by 2030 and to help protect biodiversity. Once 60 countries have ratified the treaty, it will enter into force.
Belgium wants to bring “ocean secretariat” home
For Belgium, minister for the North Sea Annelies Verlinden is travelling to Nice. There she will ratify the UN Ocean Treaty on behalf of Belgium. ‘The signing will be a solemn moment, with a United Nations ceremony that will be attended by other countries that have already ratified or will ratify the treaty,’ Ms Verlinden told VRT NEWS.
Currently, more than 30 countries have already done so. The number of 60 is not expected to be reached during this summit, but it is possible that that milestone will be reached in the autumn.
When that happens, the treaty will enter into force after 120 days. And then within the year there will in principle also be a first UN ocean summit like the COP, the regular conference that we already have for climate and biodiversity. Only then can it also be decided where the secretariat for the ocean treaty will be located.