- Barbados signs United Nation’s BBNJ Agreement
USA / BARBADOS – Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley told leaders at the annual general debate that over the last four years the world has faced ‘poly-crises.’
“We continue to wrestle with the climate crisis as a human family, We grapple with the legacy of the pandemic,” she said, adding that “we are now regrettably confronted by multiple theaters of war and scenes of horror and famine flowing from that war, armed conflict, instead of pursuing the development of citizens of every country.”
Citing Ukraine and Gaza, as well as Sudan, Mottley said that the world could not “afford the distraction of war,” saying that, “if ever there was a time to pause and to reset, it is now collectively, collectively as an international community and individually, as leaders in each of our countries.”
Prime Minister Mottley said it was incumbent on leaders to “deliver new opportunities and solutions to these crises which dampen economic growth, which restrict the ambitions of our people and numb our sense of the beauty and goodness that the world ought to be offering,” adding, this reset is what “all of our citizens are demanding.”
Simply put the prime minister said that too many people “go to bed with their belly hungry.”
An inability to reset globally will foster “a crisis of confidence in the existing international order, which must become inclusive and responsive for all,” Prime Minister Mottley continued. This global reset should target our rules and institutions, aiming to end discrimination and processes that create first- and second-class citizens depending on your nation of origin.
Recalling that 2024 was the final year of the UN Decade, Prime Minister Mottley said that while much had been achieved, Barbados and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) were joining the growing chorus for the immediate proclamation of a second Decade to address the matter of reparations for slavery and colonialism.
As wars continue to rage around the world, the UN has an important role. “There are few areas where the world is more in need of the United Nations acting as the United Nations to secure the objectives of the Charter than in the area of peace and security,” the prime minister noted.
Mottley added that the UN, and especially the Security Council, needs reform, underlining that the current configuration of permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council “has no place in the 21st century.”
The Barbadian Prime Minister highlighted areas where she felt reason for optimism including the adoption by global leaders of the Pact for the Future, a landmark declaration that sets out the commitment by countries around the world to foster sustainable development, peace and stronger global governance.
“Above all else, we need a global reset on peace. There needs to be global peace. It can’t be too difficult to work for peace,” said the Barbadian Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, Barbados signed and ratified a United Nations (UN) treaty which regulates biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), as the 13th country in the world to ratify the agreement and the second in CARICOM after Belize, reports Sheena Forde-Craigg, GIS Barbados.
Minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, Kerrie Symmonds, signed the agreement on behalf of the government of Barbados, at the UN Headquarters in New York.
The agreement is open for signature by all states and regional economic integration organisations until September 20, 2025, and will enter into force 120 days after the 60th instrument of ratification, approval and acceptance or accession.
The treaty is officially titled “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” – commonly known as the BBNJ Agreement.
The overall objective of the treaty is the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction for the present and the long term, through effective implementation of the relevant provisions of the Convention and further international cooperation and coordination.
It creates an international legal framework in which countries will be able to cooperate in the management of marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits.
The treaty also establishes measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas and environmental impact assessments, and supports capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology.
In addition, the agreement also addresses a number of “cross-cutting issues”, establishes a funding mechanism, and sets up institutional arrangements, including a Conference of the Parties and various subsidiary bodies, a Clearing-House Mechanism, and a secretariat.
