CANADA COMMEMORATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF UN CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA
The Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today marked the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“The Convention plays an important role in Canada’s Northern Strategy,” said Minister Bernier. “UNCLOS contributes to building a stable, rules-based region under which we cooperate with other circumpolar countries on issues of common concern. Cooperating with our Northern neighbours will help Canadian Arctic residents realize their true potential and create a healthy and prosperous region within a strong and sovereign country. With legal authority recognized by UNCLOS, Canada will continue to monitor and control its Arctic waters through improved means, including RADARSAT-2, Canada’s next-generation commercial synthetic aperture radar satellite.
“Some observers have referred to UNCLOS as one of the most significant legal instruments of the 20th century,” said Minister Bernier. “From Canada’s perspective, it may also be the most significant of the 21st century, as the Arctic is emerging as a new nexus of national, regional and global issues.”
UNCLOS sets out the international legal framework for areas in which countries have sovereign rights and exercise jurisdiction. It provides guidance on navigational rights, territorial sea limits, economic jurisdiction, legal status of resources on the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, passage of ships through narrow straits, conservation and management of living marine resources, protection of the marine environment, a marine research regime, as well as a binding procedure for the settlement of disputes between states.
To date, 155 nations have ratified the Convention; Canada did so on November 7, 2003.
Ratification of UNCLOS opened the door for Canada to secure international recognition of the full extent of its vast continental shelf. In some areas, this shelf extends beyond 200 nautical miles, and the exclusive jurisdiction over natural resources in the continental shelf goes beyond 200 nautical miles to the outer limit of the shelf. Canadian scientists are conducting mapping surveys to establish with certainty where the country’s continental shelf begins and ends. Particulars of the outer limits of these continental shelves will be submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf by the end of 2013—10 years after Canada ratified the convention.
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