Nations urged to make UN summit a 'turning point' for oceans
2 June 2025 09:41
PARIS (AFP) Nations will be under pressure to deliver more than just rhetoric at a UN oceans summit in France next week, including much-needed funds to better protect the world's overexploited and polluted seas.The third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) seeks to build global unity and raise money for marine conservation even as nations disagree over deep-sea mining, plastic trash, and overfishing.On Sunday, hosts France are expecting about 70 heads of state and government to arrive in Nice for a pre-conference opening ceremony, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.Oceans are "in a state of emergency" and the June 9 to 13 meeting "will not be just another routine gathering", said UN under-secretary-general Li Junhua."There's still time to change our course if we act collectively," he said.Most countries are expected to send ministers or lower-level delegates to the summit, which does not carry the weight of a climate COP or UN treaty negotiation or make legally binding decisions.The United States under President Donald Trump is unlikely to send a delegation at all.France has promised the summit will do for ocean conservation what the Paris Agreement did for global climate action.Nations present are expected to adopt a "Nice Declaration:" a statement of support for greater ocean protection, coupled with voluntary additional commitments by individual governments.Pacific leaders are expected to turn out in force and demand, in particular, concrete financial commitments from governments."The message is clear: voluntary pledges are not enough", Ralph Regenvanu, environment minister for Vanuatu, told reporters.The summit will also host business leaders, international donors, and ocean activists, while a science convention beforehand is expected to draw 2,000 ocean experts.
Temperature Check France has set a high bar for securing by Nice the 60 ratifications needed to enact a landmark treaty to protect marine habitats outside national jurisdiction. So far, only 28 countries and the European Union have done so. Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, France's oceans envoy, says that without the numbers, the conference "will be a failure."
Bringing the high seas treaty into force is seen as crucial to meeting the globally agreed target of protecting 30 percent of oceans by 2030.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
World Environment Day 2025 focuses on ending plastic pollution
Communities, businesses and governments around the world observed World Environment Day on Thursday with more than 2,500 events globally. The theme for 2025 - #BeatPlasticPollution - calls for collective action to tackle the issue. The annual social and environmental cost of plastic pollution ranges from US$300 billion to US$600 billion, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. It said that by 2040, plastic leakage to the environment is predicted to grow by 50 per cent, and that pollution enters our bodies through food, water and the air we breathe. The World Environment Day ceremony was held in Jeju, South Korea. International leaders, including UAE President Sheikh Mohamed, reaffirmed their commitment to protecting the planet. In his message for World Environment Day, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: 'Plastic waste clogs rivers, pollutes the ocean, and endangers wildlife. And as it breaks down into smaller and smaller parts, it infiltrates every corner of Earth: from the top of Mount Everest to the depths of the ocean; from human brains to human breastmilk.' 'Yet there is a movement for urgent change. We are seeing mounting public engagement, steps towards reusability and greater accountability and policies to reduce single-use plastics and improve waste management. But we must go further, faster,' he added.
Middle East Eye
6 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Libya: UN raises alarm over ‘gross violations' after scores of bodies found at militia sites in Tripoli
The UN has demanded an independent probe into evidence of extrajudicial killings by an armed Libyan group following the discovery of dozens of bodies in mass graves across Libya's capital Tripoli. The bodies were found at sites run by the Stabilisation Support Apparatus (SSA), one of the city's most powerful militia groups, once led by Abdel-Ghani al-Kikli who was assassinated in May. Al-Kikli, also known as "Gheniwa," was among Tripoli's most influential militia commanders and faced allegations of extrajudicial killings and serious human rights violations. Before his death, he had come into conflict with other armed groups. His killing triggered armed clashes across the capital, the deadliest since August 2023, when rival factions in Tripoli battled for control, leaving 55 people dead. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In the wake of the violence, the UN human rights office (OCHR) said 10 badly charred bodies were discovered at the SSA headquarters in the Abu Salim neighbourhood, while 67 more bodies were found 'in refrigerators in various states of decay' in hospitals in Abu Salim and Al Khadra. Exclusive: Greece to lobby Egypt against Haftar endorsing Turkey-Libya maritime deal Read More » Another suspected mass grave has also been reported at the SSA-run Tripoli Zoo. The identities of the victims remain unknown. Volker Turk, the UN's high commissioner said the revelations confirmed the UN's 'worst-held fears' of gross human rights violations perpetrated by the group at these sites, adding that the bodies were found along with "suspected instruments of torture and abuse, and potential evidence of extrajudicial killings'. Turk noted that forensic authorities have not been allowed into the sites and called on the Libyan authorities to seal them to preserve evidence and ensure international access. The recent revelations follow the discovery of two mass graves in Jakharrah and Al-Kufra in February, containing over 100 bodies of refugees, who are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking, forced disappearance and killings in Libya. The SSA has long been suspected by the UN Support Mission in Libya and independent rights experts of being the main perpetrators of violence inside Libya's detention centres. Officially tied to the Presidential Council under the internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU), the group is one of the many factions competing for power in Libya's capital.
Dubai Eye
8 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
US vetoes UN Security Council demand for Gaza ceasefire
The US on Wednesday vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that demanded an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access. The other 14 countries on the Council voted in favour of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where famine looms and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month. "The US has been clear: We would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza," Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the Council before the vote, arguing that it would also undermine US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire. Washington is Israel's biggest ally and arms supplier. The Security Council vote came as Israel pushes ahead with an offensive in Gaza after ending a two-month truce in March. Gaza health authorities said Israeli strikes killed 45 people on Wednesday, while Israel said a soldier died in fighting. Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward criticised the Israeli government's decisions to expand its military operations in Gaza and severely restrict humanitarian aid as "unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive". Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the council members who voted in favour of the draft: "You chose appeasement and submission. You chose a road that does not lead to peace. Only to more terror." Hamas condemned the US veto, describing it as showing "the US administration's blind bias" towards Israel. The draft Security Council resolution had also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and others. Rival and Operations The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. They say civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks and that thousands more bodies have been lost under rubble. Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited UN-led deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later a controversial new aid distribution system was launched by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the US and Israel. Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. Israel and the US are urging the UN to work through the GHF, which is using private US security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution at so-called secure distribution sites. "No one wants to see Palestinian civilians in Gaza go hungry or thirsty," Shea told the Security Council, adding that the draft resolution did not "acknowledge the disastrous shortcomings of the prior method of aid delivery". The UN and international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral. No aid was distributed by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Wednesday as it pressed the Israeli military to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its so-called secure distribution sites after a deadly incident on Tuesday.
