World Oceans Day

This years' theme is “Our oceans: opportunities and challenges

World Oceans Day

  (WORLDWIDE, 6/8/2010) Many countries have celebrated World Oceans Day following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.

In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly decided that, as from 2009, 8 June would be designated by the United Nations as World Oceans Day.

The official designation of World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans. The oceans are essential to food security and the health and survival of all life, power our climate and are a critical part of the biosphere.

The theme of the inaugural observance of the World Oceans Day by the United Nations in 2009 was “Our Oceans, Our Responsibility”. The Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, in cooperation with the Department of Public Information, organized a number of events and activities at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 8 June 2009.

World Oceans Day, “Our oceans, our responsibility”, emphasized our individual and collective duty to protect the marine environment and carefully manage its resources.  Safe, healthy and productive seas and oceans are integral to human well-being, economic security and sustainable development.

This years’ observance will focus on how effectively UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) is operating as the legal framework for the oceans and seas after 15 years of its entry into force. The expert panel discussion on the theme “Our oceans: opportunities and challenges” is sponsored by the Division of Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs.

Later in the afternoon, there will be a screening of the Disney nature feature “Oceans”, co-sponsored by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, and the Permanent Mission of Monaco to the United Nations.

The Empire State Building in New York City will be light from white, blue to purple to signify the entirety of the oceans from the shallows to the darker depths, to mark the observance of World Oceans Day by the United Nations.

About UNCLOS

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place from 1973 through 1982. The Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.

The Convention, concluded in 1982, replaced four 1958 treaties. UNCLOS came into force in 1994, a year after Guyana became the 60th state to sign the treaty. To date, 158 countries and the European Community have joined in the Convention. However, it is now regarded as a codification of the customary international law on the issue.

While the Secretary General of the United Nations receives instruments of ratification and accession and the UN provides support for meetings of states party to the Convention, the UN has no direct operational role in the implementation of the Convention. There is, however, a role played by organizations such as the International Maritime Organization, the International Whaling Commission, and the International Seabed Authority (the latter being established by the UN Convention).