Germany signs the High Seas Treaty
The German government has signed the United Nations High Seas Treaty to protect the world’s oceans.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Environment Minister Steffi Lemke signed the document in New York on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings.
The treaty was adopted by the United Nations in June after years of negotiations, and it forms the basis for designating large protected areas on the high seas.
Lemke said it was a “historic day for the protection of the seas”.
Baerbock stated that the treaty is “a ray of hope for the world’s oceans, the people of this world, as well as the United Nations”.
The Treaty also establishes procedures for assessing the environmental impact of economic projects, missions and other activities on the oceans.
This applies to all parts of the sea that do not fall within the exclusive economic zone, the territorial sea, the internal waters of a state, or the insular waters of an archipelagic state, according to the United Nations.
Two-thirds of the oceans belong to the high seas and thus have remained largely a lawless zone until now… This is changing now,” Lemke said.
