Nigeria Finalises Plans to Ratify UN Ocean Biodiversity Treaty

Nigeria has completed the domestic arrangements needed to ratify a landmark international treaty that protects marine life in waters beyond any country's national jurisdiction.

 

The Nigerian delegation made this known on Thursday at the UN General Assembly's Sixth Committee, during the committee's debate on the rule of law at the national and international levels.

 

According to the delegation, Nigeria has already signed the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction and has now finished its domestic preparations towards ratification.

 

The agreement sets up a legally binding framework for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas that lie outside national jurisdiction.

 

Addressing the committee, the delegation reaffirmed Nigeria's commitment to international law, the sovereign equality of states and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

 

It pointed to Nigeria's compliance with the International Court of Justice's October 2002 judgment, which awarded sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.

 

The delegation recalled that Nigeria later withdrew its administration from the peninsula and from affected border communities in line with the judgment.

 

It added that Nigeria and Cameroon also concluded the 2006 Greentree Agreement to ensure the ruling was implemented peacefully under international supervision.

 

In Nigeria's view, its handling of the dispute shows that it respects binding international judicial decisions, even when the outcome goes against it.

 

The country, however, raised concern that structural inequalities continue to limit the participation of developing countries in international legal processes.

 

The delegation identified limited technical capacity and unequal access to expertise as key obstacles facing developing countries in international dispute settlement.

 

Nigeria therefore called for greater investment in legal capacity-building, so that developing countries can take part more fully in treaty negotiations and in the work of international courts and tribunals.

 

At home, the delegation said, Nigeria remains committed to judicial reform, institutional accountability and improved access to justice.

 

It stressed that respect for national sovereignty and the consistent application of international law remain indispensable to building an equitable international legal order.