I traveled from my home in Senegal to New York City to join negotiations at the United Nations for the strong global oceans treaty that the world needs, and that so many of you have supported. For two weeks, negotiations at IGC5, the fifth of such conferences, were discussed and like so many, I hoped that an agreement to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030 would be reached.
But it wasn't.
Yet again, the oceans and communities who depend on them were asked to wait. Negotiations were suspended and will be resumed at an unknown date. Faced with such a disappointing end, I had the opportunity to address the assembled delegates. I'd like to share my following remarks with you as well since the fate of the oceans impacts us all….
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Thank you Madam President for giving Greenpeace the floor.
I'm speaking on behalf of over five million people who have joined the call for a strong Global Ocean Treaty. In Senegal, where I'm from, fish makes up 70% of people's animal protein needs. The ocean is a source of our food security. You must protect the oceans to protect our lives.
We acknowledge that some progress was made over the last two weeks. But while debating the technical points, we have forgotten what is important, and why we are here: to protect the oceans and the people depending on them. Our decisions today will have an impact on billions of lives, and on vulnerable coastal communities like mine, who depend on healthy oceans.
It is sad that, in spite of the strong momentum and the bold commitments of many governments to finalise an ambitious Treaty at this session, the biggest opportunity to protect half of our planet has collapsed, undermining all the progress made over the past two weeks to move forward with protecting the oceans up to the last minute.
This agreement has been discussed for twenty years. During that time, more than a hundred marine species have become critically endangered, more than a thousand days of marine heatwaves have devastated ocean life, and over the past 50 years we have lost 70 percent of sharks.
We must agree on a strong Treaty this year, so the actual work of protecting the global oceans and vulnerable coastal communities can start, before it is too late. We are urging you and your ministers to resume the 5th Session of the Intergovernmental Conference as soon as possible to bring this Treaty over the finish line by the end of the year.
Thank you Madam President.
Awa Traore is a Climate and Oceans Campaigner with Greenpeace Africa.
