Questions for policymakers investigating the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Security
What impact would ratifying (or not ratifying) the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea have on the ability of the United States to address security challenges on and over the seas, including the U.S. military’s freedom of movement and efforts to prevent transfers of weapons of mass destruction through the Proliferation Security Initiative?
Would ratification of the Convention restrict U.S. ability to conduct intelligence activities?
Would ratification of the Convention inhibit U.S. capacity to detain vessels suspected of involvement in terrorism or proliferation?
How does nonparticipation in the Convention affect U.S. relationships with States bordering the strategic waterways of Southeast Asia?
The U.S. now asserts that most of the Convention’s provisions regarding navigation rights and exclusive economic zones have already entered into customary law. What additional security benefits would the U.S. receive from ratifying the treaty, compared to if it continued to claim the most favorable provisions under customary law?
Economics
What impact would ratifying (or not ratifying) the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea have on the ability of United States companies to exploit resources of the oceans, including the development of energy, mineral, and other natural resources, such as fishing?
During President Reagan’s term in office, the regulation over the exploration of deep sea mining was a contentious issue. Were those issues fully resolved in the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea?
How does the Convention affect the use and development of the Arctic region, both near Alaska and in the rest of the Arctic Ocean?
Environmental Issues
What impact would ratifying (or not ratifying) the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea have on the ability of the United States to protect the marine environment and living ocean resources in the waters off its shores and around the world?
How will joining the Convention impact the conservation of the Arctic region?
Institutions
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes three principal institutions: the International Seabed Authority, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. What provisions does the Convention make for the United States to participate in and influence the work of these institutions, and how will ratifying (or not ratifying) the Convention effect the impact that the work of these institutions may have on U.S. interests?
Is the sovereignty of the U.S. affected or not affected by these institutions?
