Law Of the Sea Support

The Law of the Sea receives broad bipartisan support among policymakers, military officials, businesses, environmental, religious, and foreign policy organizations, as well as institutions such as the American Bar Association; American Petroleum Institute; US Chamber of Commerce; World Wildlife Fund US; Marine Conservation Institute; AFL-CIO; Military Officers Association of America; National Fisheries Institute; United Nations Association of the USA; United States Oil and Gas Association, and many more.

Time for the Senate to Ratify the Law of the Sea

[I]n order to ensure continued American leadership in issues of maritime policy and security, we strongly recommend accession of the United States to the Convention on the Law of the Sea.
- Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, March 16, 2011

Accession [to the Convention on the Law of the Sea] will promote U.S. interests in the environmental health of the oceans. It will secure U.S. sovereign rights over extensive marine areas, including the valuable natural resources they contain.
-President George W. Bush, 2007

Signing onto the Convention is critical to protecting American security and enhancing our economic strength. Joining the Convention would put America's resource rights on firm legal footing, protecting American business interests and helping those businesses stay competitive internationally....

Past administrations - both Republican and Democratic - the United States military, and industry and environmental groups have all together signaled strong support for joining the Convention. It is a key piece of unfinished business. And I'm confident that the United States will soon do what over 160 other countries have already done and join the Law of the Sea Convention.
- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Dec. 16, 2011

The Convention is a dynamic, living constitution for the world’s oceans that fosters sustainable ocean use and freedom of navigation. WWF supporters helped push the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold hearings on the convention and to approve it. Now approval is needed from the full Senate. - World Wildlife Fund U.S.

Explore some of the NGO campaigns supporting the Law of the Sea:

• WWF Conservation Action Network
• PEW Environment Group
• Better World Campaign
• Citizens for Global Solutions

Explore published articles and blogs

• NYT Energy& Environment, "U.S. Pushes for Law of the Sea Ratification as New Arctic Mapping Project Begins," by Lauren Morello, Published: July 29, 2009
• Reuters, "U.S. Senate panel backs Law of the Sea treaty," by Kevin Drawbaugh, Published: Oct 31, 2007
• By Don Kraus, "Time to Ratify the Law of the Sea" (Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, June 6, 2007)
• Blog by 'Citizens for Global Solutions' on the Law of the Sea
• Blog by 'Foreign Policy Association's Kevin Matha

BACK to
Law of the Sea