The Assembly therefore calls on the Council of Europe member
and non-member States to:
6.1 support
the implementation of major international treaties governing the
protection of marine life:
6.1.1 the UNCLOS, which is the
main component of the legal framework applying to the seas and oceans;
6.1.2 the European Union Agreement on Port State Measures to
Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
Fishing;
6.1.3 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention
on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other
Matter (“London Convention”) of 1972;
6.1.4 the IMO International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships, of 1973, aimed at preventing pollution of
the marine environment by ships, whether as a result of operational
or accidental causes;
6.1.5 the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of
2022 and the European Union Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation
of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (“Habitats Directive”)
of 1992, which protect the seabed and marine species, among other
things;
6.2 sign and ratify the UN High Seas Treaty so that 60 ratifications
can be achieved and it can enter into force in 2025;
6.3 support the Bern Convention and stabilise the resources
allocated to its implementation;
6.4 consolidate the link between human rights and the environment,
including the seas and oceans dimension, through the Reykjavik Process,
and work towards agreeing a comprehensive Council of Europe strategy
in this field;
6.5 incorporate the seas and oceans dimension into their national
policies to tackle the climate crisis, including policies related
to mitigation, adaptation and resilience, and ensure adequate involvement
of the population whose livelihood directly depends on the health
of seas and oceans, notably with regard to fishing activities and
exploitation of coastlines;
6.6 guarantee the rights enshrined in the UN Convention on
Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and
Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (“Aarhus Convention”) of
1998, and provide intelligible information to the public;
6.7 raise public awareness of the issues of overfishing and
illegal fishing and expand public participation in decision making
aimed at addressing these problems;
6.8 ensure a broad, democratic and transparent mandate for
the UN’s international legally binding instrument, which should
be completed by the end of 2024, aimed at putting an end to plastic
pollution, including in the marine environment, in order to address
the entire life cycle of plastic waste and not only its release
into oceans and seas;
6.9 provide for effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties
for those responsible for any marine pollution, including the possibility
of prison sentences in cases of deliberate pollution;
6.10 strengthen their legal arsenal and power to introduce
a new offence that would make it possible to criminally prosecute
those who harm the health of seas and oceans;
6.11 contribute to the work of the International Maritime Organization
with a view to bringing the human dimension of maritime activities
to the fore, by promoting the application of key European human
rights standards so that every sector of global maritime activity
achieves a high level of human rights protection;
6.12 promote the codification of the term “ecocide” at national,
regional, European and international levels;
6.13 ask national parliaments to raise awareness among their
parliamentarians of the issue of the right to a healthy environment
in general and in particular in relation to marine environment and
maritime law;
6.14 support Black Sea mine clearance initiatives and activities.
