United Nations, NY, June 30, 2025 – The Thirty-Fifth Meeting of State Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was convened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, from 23-26 June 2025. St. Kitts and Nevis was represented at this important meeting by H.E. Dr. Mutryce Williams, Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Counsellor, Mrs. Sonia Boddie-Thompson, legal expert at the Permanent Mission.
The meeting received reports from representatives from the three key bodies established by the Convention which are the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Seabed Authority and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. A very comprehensive report from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Antonio Guterres, on the Oceans and the Law of the Sea was also considered at the meeting.
H.E. Dr. Mutryce Williams, delivering a national statement underscored, “as a small island developing state, St. Kitts and Nevis remains deeply committed to advancing the implementation of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” which she noted the country was pleased to ratify in 1993.
She further highlighted, “St. Kitts and Nevis’ recent active participation in the Third Ocean Conference, and the signing in Nice, France, of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, popularly referred to as the BBNJ Agreement, is evidence of our country’s commitment to upholding the principles of UNCLOS.”
Reflecting on the issue of capacity-building and transfer of marine technology, which was a major focus of the Secretary-General’s report, Ambassador Williams, expressed the Federation’s deep gratitude to the Division of Ocean and Law Affairs of the United Nations and their partners, for funding and facilitating several trainings and workshops, from which diplomats, marine officials and legal practitioners have been able to gain more in-depth knowledge of UNCLOS and related Agreements, to ensure the Federation remains compliant with the Convention.
H.E. Williams, however, issued a key advocacy on behalf of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) stating, “St. Kitts and Nevis calls for serious assessment of the unique vulnerabilities and challenges of SIDS, when crafting capacity-building programmes and marine technology transfer initiatives, to ensure greater benefit to SIDS, particularly those of us in the Caribbean.”
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was adopted on 10 December 1982, entered into force on 16 November 1994. It sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out and is of strategic importance as the basis for national, regional and global action and cooperation in the marine sector.
