The Parliament has today approved the Maldives' participation in the "Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction" or Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), passed by the UN General Assembly.
The Foreign Relations Committee's report on the matter, sent by the President seeking parliamentary approval to join this treaty or agreement, was presented at today's sitting. The Parliament passed the report without any amendments.
At today's sitting, the accession to the "Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction" was passed by a full majority of the members who participated in the vote. 25 votes are required to pass the accession to the treaty. A total of 48 members voted in favour. Therefore, with more votes than required to pass, Speaker Mohamed Aslam, who presided over today's sitting, announced that the Parliament had passed the Maldives' accession to the treaty.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu decided to seek parliamentary approval for the Maldives to join the "Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction" following the advice of the Cabinet at a meeting held on February 11 this year. This decision was made after discussing a paper submitted by the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy at that day's Cabinet meeting. President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu submitted the matter to Parliament seeking approval to join the treaty on February 29.
This treaty is designed to protect and conserve the biodiversity and areas of the high seas, and to facilitate their sustainable use. The formulation of this treaty is the most important international effort to date to protect and conserve the marine ecosystems of the high seas. The President's Office has previously stated that it is very important for a small island nation like the Maldives to participate in such a treaty that facilitates the protection and sustainable use of the ocean.
To date, 83 countries have signed this treaty.
