Statement by Birgir Hrafn Búason, Deputy Director General, Directorate for Legal and Executive Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

SPLOS 35th meeting, 25 June 2025, Agenda item 13

Mr President.

I would like to start by thanking the Secretary General for the informative reports to which this agenda item refers.

As always, it is a pleasure to take the floor during the meeting of States Parties to the Convention, our constitution of the ocean, which sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out.

Last week, Iceland had the honour of co-chairing the Informal Consultative Process on “Capacity building and the transfer of marine technology: New developments, approaches and challenges”. We thank our co-chair, Barbados, and DOALOS for all the hard work, as well as all delegations who participated in the informative and fruitful discussions had on this important topic.

Mr President. 

Iceland would like to warmly thank Costa Rica and France for the excellent organization of the UN Ocean Conference held in Nice just two weeks ago. Iceland was honored to be entrusted with co-chairing a panel on the mobilization of finance for ocean actions in the support of Sustainable Development Goal 14, a goal which continues to be significantly underfunded. We continue to emphasize the importance of the UN Ocean Conference, which is without doubt the most important international conference on the Ocean and SDG14. It is a conference mandated by the General Assembly, where we all participate on an equal footing, united by a common ambition to sustainably manage our Ocean, tackle the grave challenges it faces and make the most of its potential.

During the conference, important discussions were held at the highest level and important milestones were reached. One such milestone was the 50^th State ratification of 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, commonly referred to as the BBNJ Agreement. With the 60 State threshold for the entry into force of the Agreement just around the corner, the international community and existing bodies must prepare for its entry into force through various practical actions, if we are to have full access to the tools provided by the BBNJ Agreement for the achievement of our common objectives.

Iceland remains committed to the work related to the BBNJ Agreement in various fora, and through various instruments, and is adamant in its support for the future work of the Agreement itself. We look forward to the second session of the BBNJ Preparatory Commission in August this year, where we hope that we can come together and make significant progress on key procedural instruments. Internally, we are working hard on completing our ratification process and look forward to attending the first meeting of the BBNJ Conference of Parties, which will hopefully be held next year. When the BBNJ Agreement enters into force, we must maintain the political momentum which has surrounded the agreement thus far and hit the ground running. It is time to put our money where our mouth is.

Mr President.

During the last two days, we heard reports from all three bodies established under the Convention. The clear increase in discussions and exchanges following these reports are a testament to the fact that the work of these bodies and the practical functioning of the Convention is more relevant than ever. 

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea continues its important core function of promoting peace and stability in our ocean by peacefully settling disputes and maintaining the rule of law. A key characteristic of the Convention is the possibility to bring disputes to binding settlement. The functioning of international courts and tribunals, and adherence to their decisions is key in ensuring a rules-based international legal order.

We welcome the important contributions the Tribunal has made in this regard, and we welcome the further exchanges we have had this week on the landmark advisory opinion given to the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. 

As addressed in the Advisory Opinion, UNCLOS is highly relevant to the challenges we face due to climate change. Climate change, science tells us, is taking place and is changing the world as we know it. How drastic the changes will be, depends on how much climate action we take. Iceland strongly supports the guidance of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is specifically referred to in the Advisory Opinion of ITLOS, and the goal of limiting temperature increase to 1,5°C. We support the phasing out of fossil fuels and ending fossil fuels subsidies.

This is an important backdrop for discussing the threats of sea-level rise. Addressing the threats brought by rising sea levels is the joint responsibility of all states. Iceland remains supportive of the International Law Commission’s work on this topic, which comes down to the very existence of States. Iceland stands ready to engage in discussions on the issue during the coming meetings of the 6^th Committee. Importantly, all activities to address the threat of sea-level rise must be carried out consistent with the legal framework of UNCLOS.

Mr President. 

Strengthening multilateral ocean governance, whether at the global or regional level, remains an ongoing task. 

States must cooperate on addressing harmful fisheries subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks, including due to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies was a major achievement in this field. Negotiations have continued in Geneva on outstanding disciplines on subsidies leading to overcapacity and overfishing under the Chairmanship of Iceland. We count on States to join the ongoing push and make every effort possible to conclude these negotiations. We also call on those that have yet to ratify the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies to do so.

Likewise, we count on States to conclude negotiations on an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution during the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, which will take place in August this year.

In face of the mounting challenges, relating to climate change and ocean health, it is important for us to keep in mind that, as confirmed by the FAO, the world has been set back in its fight against hunger and food insecurity. A healthy ocean is an important source of nutrition for billions of people. The Ocean has potential to help us meet major challenges, such as food insecurity and climate change. Not only is the Ocean our most important carbon sink, but Ocean food is both nutritious and climate friendly. We must take necessary action to keep the Ocean healthy and protect the marine environment in line with our UNCLOS obligations, so that we may continue to reap the benefits.

Mr President.

Once again, Iceland would like to thank the Commission on the Limits on the Continental Shelf for the constructive cooperation on Iceland’s Partial Revised Submission regarding the western, southern and southeastern parts of the Reykjanes Ridge, resulting in Recommendations approved by the Commission in March this year.

In conclusion, I would also like to thank our colleagues who have engaged this week in the discussions on the conditions of service of the members of the Commission, as well as the co-coordinators. Iceland has been actively engaged in this work for a long time, and we remain committed in finding sustainable and permanent solutions on this issue. It is time for us all to put our thinking caps on and come up with creative solutions that bridge the gap between what we want to achieve and what is practically possible.

I thank you.