The President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) appointed Ngedikes “Olai” Uludong, Permanent Representative of Palau to the UN, and Martin Bille Hermann, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN, as co-facilitators for the preparatory process and intergovernmental negotiations on the outcome of the second Ocean Conference.

The first ‘UN Conference to Support the Implementation of SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development’ (Ocean Conference) convened from 5-9 June 2017, in New York, US. The second Ocean Conference was mandated by UNGA Resolution 73/292 and is to take place from 2-6 June 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal.

The second Ocean Conference will seek to, inter alia, stimulate new partnerships to advance the SDG 14 implementation; identify further ways and means to support the implementation of SDG 14; share the experiences gained at the national, regional and international levels in the SDG 14 implementation; identify possible challenges and obstacles relating to the achievement of all the SDG targets; provide an update on the implementation of the voluntary commitments made in the context of the first Ocean Conference; and contribute to the follow-up and review process of the 2030 Agenda by providing an input to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

In resolution 73/292, UNGA decided that the second Ocean Conference will adopt, by consensus, a “brief, concise, action-oriented and intergovernmentally agreed declaration,” which is expected to focus on science-based and innovative areas of action to support implementation of SDG 14 as well as to adopt a list of voluntary commitments in support of achieving SDG 14. The UNGA President will organize a two-day preparatory meeting for the second Ocean Conference in February 2020, at UN Headquarters in New York, US. [UNGA President Letter] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on UNGA Resolution 73/292 ]