Indonesia will emphasize UNCLOS as the main source of law on maritime issues at the Meeting of States Parties

JAKARTA - Indonesia will emphasize the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the main source of law on maritime issues in the "36th Meeting of States Parties" held in New York, United States this week.

Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yvonne Mewengkang, said, "Indonesia will be represented by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia (PTRI) in New York at the "36th Meeting of States Parties" UNCLOS on June 15-19 in New York."

"In this meeting, Indonesia will emphasize its consistent position that UNCLOS is the Constitution of the Ocean, that all global maritime issues must refer to UNCLOS as the main source of law," explained Yvonne in a statement to VOI.id, Monday (15/6).

"Indonesia will also emphasize the importance of all institutions established under UNCLOS, including CLCS (Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf), ISA (International Seabed Authority) and ITLOS (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea), to carry out their mandates in accordance with the provisions of the Convention," he said.

It is known that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the result of a series of maritime law conferences held by the UN in 1973-1982. It was signed at a meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica on December 10, 1982.

Currently, there are 171 state parties, consisting of 168 UN member states, Palestine, Niue and the European Union. Indonesia itself is a signatory state to UNCLOS on December 10, 1982, and ratified it through Law No. 17 of 1985.