Dozens of heads of state, senior Government officials and scientists have gathered in Nice, France, today (09), to discuss issues regarding the oceans and its sustainable use. 

Sri Lanka has dispatched the Director General of the Ocean affairs, environment and climate change division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rizvi Hassen to represent Sri Lanka’s interest at the vital conference.

The third United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC3) which commenced yesterday and will continue to the 13th of June, is co-hosted by France with Costa Rica.

The conference is also part of the programme stemming from the 2017 United Nations General Assembly declaration of the “Oceans Decade”: a decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). 

The UNOC3 will also discuss the importance of implementing the new international legislation on -Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), which Sri Lanka has signed on to and is currently in the process ratifying.

It will also discuss issues related to Ocean pollution, especially about plastic pollution, over fishing and illegal fishing and sustainable use of marine living resources beyond national jurisdictions.