Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the International Seabed Authority Ambassador Dwight Gardiner delivered cogent arguments before the United Nations on Tuesday urging states to demonstrate political will and firm action in addressing the ocean crisis.
Ambassador Gardiner, who is also Director/Registrar General of the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Marine Services (ADOMS) is in New York to attend the 35th meeting of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The United Nations body sets out the fundamental rules by which countries make use of the world’s oceans. Some of these rules govern fishing rights, shipping lanes and territorial boundaries.
Recognising Antigua and Barbuda’s leadership role as a member of the community of Small Island Developing States, Ambassador Gardiner zeroed in on that section of the Secretary General’s report that confirmed a harsh reality affecting these nations – the oceans are in crisis.
“Climate change, overfishing, marine pollution, and habitat destruction continue to place our marine ecosystems under increasing stress. For SIDS, these impacts are especially severe. We are among the least responsible for these global challenges, yet we bear their harshest consequences, often with the least access to the necessary tools, technology, and finance to respond,” Ambassador Gardiner pleaded before the United Nations body.
Siezing on the momentum created by the Oceans Conference in France earlier this month, Ambassador Gardiner expressed grave concern about the process of implementation in addressing the widening gap between commitment and concrete action.
“For SIDS, implementing UNCLOS provisions on capacity-building, marine science, and technology transfer is not a lofty ambition but a matter of survival. We call on all States Parties to match their legal commitments with political will and resources, ensuring no state, especially no small island state, is left behind,” he urged.
Ambassador Gardiner also reflected positively on the advisory opinion of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea in the fight for climate justice, noting its call for urgent financial and technical support to enable SIDS to adapt, build resilience, and to safeguard our marine environment for generations to come.
He further advised that the 33 member UN grouping of countries known as the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) has named Antigua and Barbuda its candidate to serve as President of the 30th Session of the International Seabed Authority Assembly, to be held this July in Kingston, Jamaica. “We would be honoured to serve in this important role, having been consistent, active participants in the work of the Assembly,” Ambassador Gardiner noted.
Ambassador Gardiner was joined at the meeting by Executive Director of the Centre for Excellence for Oceanography & the Blue Economy Dr Branson Belle and First Secretary at the Antigua and Barbuda Mission to the United Nations Asha Challenger.
During his visit, he also engaged in discussions on a range of matters with Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Walton Webson.