Summary
June 28, 2022—During a speech at the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cabo Verde, José Ulisses Correia de Silva, emphasized the need for a Universal Declaration of Ocean’s Rights, and stated that Cabo Verde advocates for such a measure (minute 4:16).
The Prime Minister explained in his address that small island nations are actually more sea than they are land, making them extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts. He noted that his country, Cabo Verde, is 99 per cent sea. The 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference is support for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and Sustainably Use the Oceans, Seas and Marine Resources.
The Universal Declaration of Ocean’s Rights is an aspiration of many activists and NGO’s. The organizations One Blue Voice and the Earth Law Center are currently campaigning for such a measure through a petition that they will present to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023. Draft principles underpinning Ocean rights that are expected to be formulated and also presented to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023.