Progress report for
The Rights of the Pacific Ocean as a Legal Entity : A science based feasibility study
Achievement at a glance
Since early 2019, #OceanAction 19759 has been carried out in two directions: is it possible to recognize legal rights to the ocean? And how can we build regional cooperation in the Pacific to recognize ocean rights based on the kinship between the Ocean and the Pacific Islanders? I worked on the feasibility aspect and built legal arguments. Key findings are that nothing in the UNCLOS or in treaties on Regional Seas is an obstacle to recognize a sea as a legal entity. It is possible to confer legal personality to a sea if coastal States decide to do so: a single State can do it in its jurisdiction or two or more States can decide together, to join waters under their authority to restore the unity of the Ocean. Results were presented on many occasions including the 10th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation, the One Ocean Symposium in August 2019 in New York, the AELA Online Conference in October 2020. In June 2019, an international workshop on Biodiversity in Oceania was organised in Noumea. One of its key messages explicitly mentioned the rights of the Pacific Ocean. The Workshop\\\'s key messages were endorsed at the 29th SPREP meeting of Officials and Environment Ministers in Apia in September 2019. On the second direction: An analysis of the situation has made it clear that a solution covering the entirety of the Pacific Ocean including international waters is not feasible as it implies an international consensus which is way too far to be achieved; It appears that a surface covered by water under sovereignty of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and Territories is a more reasonable target. The kinship with the Ocean that underlies Pacific Islanders culture in Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia encourages us to be optimistic on this approach.Challenges faced in implementation
It has been a bit difficult to progress as it is necessary to have grassroots support in various Pacific SIDS to convince political leaders former Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna is already a fervent defender of Ocean Rights to come to think of Ocean Rights as the much-needed solution to protect the Pacific Ocean. It has been difficult to find reliable relays in different Pacific SIDS willing to go out of the way to get the job done. Another reason is that in 2020 I professionally moved temporarily from the Pacific to The Caribbean which does not make it easy to dialogue with Pacific Islanders. However, the project has received support from colleagues in New Zealand (CI), New Caledonia, from Michelle Maloney, Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance and from IUCN (CEESP) colleagues in the Pacific with whom I continue to liaise.\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\nThe other challenges I have had to face are: \\\\r\\\\n Lack of time and opportunities to mobilize experts in Law of the Sea and willing to work on Ocean Rights\\\\r\\\\n Lack of dedicated funding to the VC to hire interns and temporary post-docs\\\\r\\\\n Little legal input from Partners. The informal contact group that was put in place in Auckland in 2018 and met virtually on a few occasions online with participants for NZ and few other countries in the Pacific allowed for interesting insights was not able to deliver on legal matters.\\\\r\\\\n Political Environment\\\\r\\\\n Social/Cultural Environment\\\\r\\\\n Regulatory/Legal Environment\\\\r\\\\n Covid 19 pandemic.\\\\r\\\\nBeneficiaries
Pacific Ocean\\\\r\\\\nPacific islanders\\\\r\\\\nPacific Islands Poetical Leaders\\\\r\\\\nThe Ocean Community
Actions
Oral Presentations were made to inform a large audience on the VC.2020
Victor DAVID. Raising the Oceans level. A plea for a holistic regional governance of a legal entity. In Environmental governance in the Pacific: towards an informed and engaged citizenry, and rights for nature. 10th Pacific islands Conference for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas. Virtual Event 24-27 November. https://www.pacificnatureconference.com.
Victor DAVID. From Living Ocean to Legal Personality. Recognizing the Pacific Ocean as a Legal Entity. A Voluntary Commitment to the UN Ocean Conference #OceanAction19759. Earth Laws Asia Pacific. Earth, Sea, Fire, Spirit. 3 day Online International Conference. October 2020. https://www.earthlaws.org.au/events/earth-sea-fire-spirit
Victor DAVID. Ocean sans Frontieres.. Webinaire Observatoire international des Droits de la Nature (OIDN). A Legal Personality and Rights for Rivers. Should we make the Saint Lawrence River a Legal Person? -June 22 2020. https://www.observatoirenature.org/webinaire
2019
Victor DAVID Towards a Regional Convention on the Rights of the Pacific Ocean as a Legal Entity. A Voluntary Commitment to the UN Ocean Conference. #OceanAction19759. In One Ocean Symposium, 24 August 2019, New York, NY USA. https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/848722/Victor-David-Regional-Convention-on-Rights-of-the-Pacific-Ocean-as-a-legal-entity-24Aug19.pdf\\r\\n\r\nVictor DAVID, Clark PETERU (coord.) & al. Key message 9: Recognizing the Pacific Ocean as a legal entity would meet the requirements and efforts of Oceanians to protect their vital, nurturing, and spiritual element. In C. E. Payri et E. Vidal (Eds), 2019, Biodiversity, a pressing need for action in Oceania. Noumea 2019. PUNC, Noumea, New Caledonia, 64 p.
Book chapter related to #OceanAction 19759
2020
Victor DAVID. L Ocean Pacifique, sujet de droit et souverainete des Etats. Quelques reflexions. In : C. DAVID (ed.). L Oceanie dans tous ses Etats. Editions RJPENC. Noumea. Jan. 2020. https://rjpenc.nc/index.php/fr/telecharger?download=28:l-oceanie-dans-tous-ses-etats-hommage-a-guy-agniel