United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Logo of the Convention
Signed	10 December 1982
Location	Montego Bay, Jamaica
Effective	16 November 1994[1]
Condition	60 ratifications
Signatories	157[2]
Parties	169[2][3]
Depositary	Secretary-General of the United Nations
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish
Full text
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea at Wikisource

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. As of May 2023^[update], 168 countries and the European Union are parties.

The convention resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place between 1973 and 1982. UNCLOS replaced the four treaties of the 1958 Convention on the High Seas. UNCLOS came into force in 1994, a year after Guyana became the 60th nation to ratify the treaty.^[1] In 2023, agreement was reached on a High Seas Treaty to be added as an instrument of the convention, to protect ocean life in international waters. This would provide measures including Marine Protected Areas and environmental impact assessments.

While the secretary-general of the United Nations receives instruments of ratification and accession and the UN provides support for meetings of states party to the convention, the United Nations Secretariat has no direct operational role in the implementation of the convention. A UN specialized agency, the International Maritime Organization, does play a role, however, as well as other bodies such as the International Whaling Commission and the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which was established by the convention itself.