President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Philemon Yang has circulated the final political declaration of the Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3). UNOC3 is set adopt the intergovernmentally agreed outcome document by consensus in June.

In a letter dated 1 May 2025, the UNGA President informs Member States that the declaration is the result of months-long negotiations co-facilitated by Permanent Representative of Cabo Verde Tania Serafim Yvonne Romualdo and Permanent Representative of Australia James Martin Larsen. Thanking Member States for their “flexibility and willingness to compromise,” as well as their commitment to having a strong outcome at UNOC3, he notes that it is his strong belief that “this final text represents the widest possible support of Member States” and urges all countries “to join the consensus adoption of the Political Declaration at the Conference in Nice.”

Titled, ‘Our Ocean, Our Future: United for Urgent Action,’ the eight-page document underscores that “ocean is fundamental to life on our planet and to our future,” and reflects Member States’ concern over “the global emergency it faces” from climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

The declaration includes elements relating to conserving the ocean and its ecosystems and promoting sustainable ocean-based economies. It also features provisions on accelerating action, including through “significant and accessible finance and the fulfilment of existing commitments and obligations under relevant intergovernmental agreements,” and looks forward to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in this regard.

The UNGA President will submit this final text to the UNOC3 Secretariat and the co-hosts, France and Costa Rica, as part of the preparations for the Conference.

The high-level 2025 UN Conference to Support the Implementation of SDG 14 (life below water) will convene in Nice, France, from 9-13 June 2025, on the theme, ‘Accelerating Action and Mobilizing All Actors to Conserve and Sustainably Use the Ocean.’

The Conference will bring together all relevant stakeholders from governments, the UN system, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions (IFIs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organizations, Indigenous Peoples, and other actors to assess challenges and opportunities associated with SDG 14, as well as actions taken towards its implementation. 

UNOC3 will build on the previous UN Ocean Conferences, hosted by Sweden and Fiji in 2017 in New York, US, and by Portugal and Kenya in 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ahead of UNOC3, the UNGA President convened a one-day preparatory meeting on 2 July 2024 at UN Headquarters in New York, US. From 7-8 June 2024, Costa Rica organized a High-level Event on Ocean Action titled, ‘Immersed in Change,’ in San José, to contribute to UNOC3 and its outcomes. [2025 UN Ocean Conference] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Zero Draft Political Declaration]