UN Adopts Landmark High Seas Treaty to Protect International Waters

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres deliver remarks to reporters outside the U.N. Security Council at U.N., headquarters in New York on April 20, 2023. Mike Segar/Reuters

The U.N. on June 19 adopted a landmark legally binding international marine biodiversity agreement to govern the high seas following nearly two decades of fierce negotiations.

The agreement, known as the High Seas Treaty or the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty, was adopted by the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction and is the first legally binding agreement of its kind, requiring international cooperation.