PETER THOMPSON, SECRETARY-GENERAL’S SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE OCEAN ANNOUNCES PRACTICAL FOLLOW-UP TO THE OCEAN CONFERENCE VOLUNTARY COMMITMENTS
3 Oct 2017 – Peter Thompson, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s first ever Special Envoy for the Ocean has announced practical follow-up actions to be taken in the wake of the UN Ocean Conference held in New York between 5 and 9 June 2017, and in particular the Voluntary Commitments submitted to the Conference.
In a letter to all those who registered voluntary commitments in support of the aims of The Ocean Conference, Peter Thompson announced that follow-up work on the register of voluntary commitments is underway and the results of that work will be shared in due course.
Emphasizing his determination to work with all the parties who have made commitments to help achieve SDG14 by 2030, the Special Envoy described the first step in the follow-up work as “an analysis of all the voluntary commitments is being undertaken by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)” and reassured stakeholders that, “the energy you communally put into The Ocean Conference has been captured and is being used to power the next phase of action to support the implementation of SDG14. The Call for Action declaration adopted at the conference has now been endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly. Thus, the international community is committed to action, and we must now move to doing what must be done next to reverse the cycle of decline in which the Ocean has been caught. In full compliance with the Call for Action declaration, effective partnerships and the full participation of all relevant stakeholders will be a key element of this collective action.”
The Secretary-General appointed Peter Thomson of Fiji as his Special Envoy for the Ocean on 12 September 2017, aiming at galvanizing concerted efforts to follow up on the outcomes of the Ocean Conference in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, maintaining the momentum for action to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Read the full letter here: Download Letter Mr. Thomson Special Envoy for the Ocean.pdf
