New York (dpa) – Germany’s Environment Minister Carsten Schneider has paid tribute to the UN High Seas Treaty, calling it the greatest international achievement in environmental policy of recent years. “The treaty proves that even in times of confrontation the principle of cooperation continues to enjoy broad international support,” he said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Schneider deposited Germany’s instrument of ratification with the United Nations – marking Germany’s official accession to the UN High Seas Treaty.
Treaty covers two thirds of global ocean
Officially called the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, the UN High Seas Treaty complements the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It applies to regions of the oceans that lie beyond a country’s national territorial waters (up to 12 nautical miles) or its exclusive economic zone (up to 200 nautical miles) – and thus encompasses two thirds of the global ocean.
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