Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta attends U.N. Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal June 27, 2022 (Credit: twitter.com/StateHouseKenya)
By Atwine Allen – DIPLOMATIC TIMES CORRESPONDENT
KAMPALA, UGANDA – Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta is among several senior officials and scientists from more than 120 countries attending the 2022 U.N. Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal this week, as well as activists dismayed by the failure to come up with international rules that might ensure ocean sustainability. No comprehensive legal framework covers the seas . Oceans cover some 70% of the earth’s surface and provide food and livelihoods for billions of people . Some activists refer to them as the largest unregulated area on the planet. The oceans face a “severe” threat from global warming , pollution, acidification and other problems, U.N. says. Potentially harmful deep-sea mining also lacks rules. The conference is set to adopt a declaration that, though not binding on its signatories , could help implement and facilitate the protection and conservation of oceans and their resources , according to the U.N. The declaration is due to be endorsed on Friday. But still beyond reach is vital new international agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction of the high seas. That treaty is being negotiated within the framework of the United Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is the main international agreement governing human maritime activities. After 10 years of talks , however, including a fourth round of negotiations three months ago, a deal is still not within sight. A fifth round is scheduled for August in New York.
“The world’s largest ecosystem.. is still unprotected and is dying as we watch ,” the activist group Ocean Rebellion said ahead of the Lisbon event. Activists plan demonstrations in the Atlatic port city during the event.
KENYA President Calls On African Nations To Develop Common Agenda on Climate to Protect Oceans
Kenya President Kenyatta has called on African nations to develop and advance a common agenda as the continent prepares to host the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt in November this year.
“Africa and its member states, under the umbrella of the Africa Union and African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) must synchronise its messages and speak with one voice in all inter-related global events. We must use our collective bargaining weight to its full advantage to influence the outcome of these multilateral processes,” the President said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta officially received in Lisbon by host President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of the Portuguese Republic at the commencement of the Kenyan leader’s two-day State Visit to the southern European country for U.N. Ocean Conference June 28, 2022. (Credit: twitter.com/StateHouseKenya)
President Kenyatta, who spoke during a meeting of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) on the sidelines of UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, encouraged Africa to take advantage of its hosting of COP27 to push for equity and justice in climate financing. President Kenyatta said he regretted that despite Africa contributing less to global emissions, the continent suffers the most from the climate induced crises such as drought, floods and locust invasion while responsible countries “are not operating in emergency mode”.
“The on-going drought in the Horn of Africa, the cyclones in Mozambique and neighbouring southern African countries, the recent devastating floods in South Africa and a locust invasion in 2020, underscore the reality of the emergency,” the President said.
