President Macky Sall's candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General places the protection of the high seas among its priorities. Beyond national waters, two-thirds of the ocean belong to everyone and are protected by almost no one.
A common space, long without rules. The high seas begin where states' jurisdictions end and cover the greater part of the ocean's surface. That space stayed open to overfishing and to an exploitation no one truly oversaw. For want of common rules, each drew from it without accounting to anyone.
A treaty to protect the open sea. In 2023, states adopted at the United Nations a treaty on the high seas, which at last allows marine protected areas to be created there. It awaits the ratifications needed to enter into force. A signed text protects nothing until states have made it their own.
The ocean holds the climate and feeds peoples. The ocean absorbs about a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity and a large share of its excess heat, and it feeds billions of people. Its decline, through warming, acidification and plastic, strikes first the coastal and island states that contributed least to it.
What the Secretariat can carry. The Secretary-General does not patrol the seas. He can press states to ratify the treaty and keep the ocean on the agenda of peace and development, recalling that a common good is protected only by common rules.
Experience in multilateral negotiation. Twelve years as head of state and the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 underpin these commitments. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations: peace, security and development conceived together; a renewed multilateralism; stronger governance of the Organization.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The United Nations treaty on the high seas, adopted in 2023, is public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net