Dear colleagues,

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the G77 and China.

First of all, allow me to thank the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations, for convening this event on the margins of the 33rd meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The recent agreement on the BBNJ Treaty, 19 years after discussions began, has ushered in a new governance era for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans.

Among other significant achievements, the Group of 77 and China have succeeded in including in the Treaty a truly balanced model for the sharing of the benefits arising from the use of marine genetic resources and digital sequence information, which is the basisan important part of biological scientific research today.

The Group also succeeded in including in the final agreement the principle of the common heritage of humankind which is set out in UNCLOS, a fundamental notion that must underpin any scientific and economic activity on the high seas and if applied in a just manner certainly not only represents a step forward in international law, but also an important step towards economic justice. This principle provides a legal foundation for a fair and equitable regime that would allow all countries to benefit from the potential that marine biodiversity represents in terms of global food security and economic prosperity, and to address the challenges of conservation and sustainable use of marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdictions. Another way in which the Agreement will contribute to greater equity in the governance of the oceans will be the commitment by developed countries to provide an additional contribution amounting to 50% of their annual financial contributions under the Agreement to fund capacity-building projects to help developing countries conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity.

Following the formal adoption of the Agreement and its opening for signature and it´s subsequent entry into force, early and effective implementation of the BBNJ Treaty will be critical to ensuring that the interests of developing countries, which are most in need of the benefits of marine genetic resources, are met in a more fair and equitable manner.

I thank you.