20 February - 3 March 2023, New York - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) participated in and contributed to the Intergovernmental Conference that agreed on the first ever High-Seas Treaty.

Over the years, PAM participated in all the negotiation phases that led to the finalization of the agreement. On previous sessions, PAM was represented by Hon. Beloica and Hon. Davidovac (Serbia) and by Hon. Khalaileh, Hon. Alajarmeh, Hon. Almomani, Hon. Alzawahreh, Hon. Sawair, Hon. Alsaaideh, Hon. Al Yacoub and Hon. Al Alaqmeh (Jordan). This time, Hon. Abdelouahab Yagoubi (Algeria) represented the Assembly.

The Treaty, which comes after years of impasse and prolonged negotiations, represents an international environmental milestone, as it aims at placing 30% of the Oceans into protected areas by 2030 (today only 1% is protected) – in line with the pledges made at the UN Conference on Biodiversity last year.

Today, nearly 10% of global marine species are thought to be on the verge of extinction. For this reason, the Agreement has the potential to become a game-changer in the field of biodiversity protection, as it aims at limiting overfishing and regulating deep-sea mining – two of the most dangerous anthropic activities for marine biodiversity.

The Agreement also includes stricter environmental regulations for companies operating on the High-Sea and a more robust institutional framework, as it establishes a dedicated Conference of the Parties, which will meet periodically to oversee the implementation of the Agreement reached.

UN Member States will now have to ratify the new Agreement reached. PAM is committed to promoting a prompt ratification process among its Members, and will continue to support climate negotiations in all relevant multilateral fora, including the forthcoming UN Water Conference in March, and the COP28 in the UAE later this year.//