After two weeks of negotiations, the member states of the United Nations broke up without a treaty for the protection of the open sea. Several stumbling blocks remain to the agreement, which is vital for the oceans.
The fifth negotiating session, which lasted two weeks and was to result in a binding text, started with informal talks culminating in formal discussions. It was theoretically the last negotiating session, but that was the last one, in March, too. Although the talks ended last night, they did not produce the desired result.
“We have never been closer to the finish line in this process,” said conference president Rena Lee. “But even though we have made great progress, we still need a little more time to reach the finish line.”
The United Nations General Assembly must now rule on resuming the fifth session at a later date. “Despite the disappointment that the treaty could not be completed in these two weeks, we find the progress made encouraging,” said Liz Karan, of the NGO Pew Charitable Trusts. She called for another session by the end of the year.
One of the major points of contention is the distribution of the potential benefits of exploiting the genetic resources of the open sea. The pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetic industries hope to find special substances there. Developing countries are concerned that they will be left out because they are unable to conduct costly studies.
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