Taking stock: The growing movement for Ocean Rights alongside the third United Nations Ocean Conference
- Michelle Bender
- Jul 1
- 10 min read
Updated: Jul 12
Michelle Bender, Legal Counsel at Ocean Vision Legal
Key words: Ocean Rights, Rights of Nature, Whale Personhood, Ocean Literacy
This blog provides a comprehensive overview of the significant advancements and growing momentum surrounding Ocean Rights. It takes stock of key events and initiatives, most notably the One Ocean Science Congress (OOSC) and the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), and the initiative to advance Whale Personhood in the Pacific. It highlights how the recognition of Ocean Rights is emerging as a critical catalyst for shifting societal values, integrating diverse knowledge systems, and fostering a more responsible and ethical human-Ocean relationship. Now that the hustle and bustle of UNOC3 is over, what happens next? How can folks continue to show up for Ocean Rights?
Contents:
Ocean Rights confirmed as a catalyst for respecting the best available science (western and Indigenous alike)
a. Environmental impact assessments identified as a key lever for change
b. The International Scientific Committee of the OOSC proposes Ocean Rights as recommendation for Heads of State and Government at UNOC
2. Ocean Rights continued to make waves into the second week in Nice at UNOC3
a. Key advancements for Whales
b. The relationship between Ocean Rights and Ocean Literacy grows
c. Despite collective action falling short- Ocean Rights gained momentum
What comes next?
Ocean Rights confirmed as a catalyst for respecting the best available science (western and Indigenous alike)
The One Ocean Science Congress (OOSC) gathered over 2000 practitioners from around the world before the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3). It began with an explosive keynote speech by Ocean Vision Legal’s Michelle Bender. This was the first time that Rights of Nature was given such a platform at an international conference — and it was for the Ocean. Now you may be wondering, why a legal framework at a science conference? This is exactly what the keynote shares, beginning at 40:11.
As the keynote addresses, Ocean Rights is more than a legal framework. Through a fundamental shift in societal norms and values, rights offer a profound transformation in how humanity views and interacts with the Ocean and can help create an ethical human-Ocean relationship. An ethical relationship is one where:
Human activities respect the Ocean’s ecological capacities;
Economic models prioritise long-term health over short-term gains;
Diverse knowledge and value systems inform and drive policy action; and
Humanity embraces a shift in behaviour, honouring our individual and collective responsibilities as caretakers of the Ocean.
These transformative principles were expressed dominantly throughout the conference. Consistent calls were made for transformative change and shifting values around how we view Nature. David Obura, Director of CORDIO East Africa and Chair of the IPBES, expressed that Nature, the economy and society are often treated in silos, but Nature underpins everything we do. In order to have stronger and more effective Ocean governance, we need to shift societal values around the Ocean. Ocean Rights is one tool that can help catalyse the transformative shift needed; shifting from seeing the Ocean as a resource and property, who we are separate from and have control over, to a living entity, who we are in partnership with and whom we have responsibilities toward. Ocean Rights listens and responds to the best available science, both western and Indigenous alike.
Environmental impact assessments identified as a key lever for change
For Ocean Vision Legal (OVL), transformative change means a true shift away from business as usual. At the OOSC, we launched our project ‘Evolving Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for an Ecologically Sustainable Future.’ EIAs are a nearly ubiquitous tool for evaluating the potential effects of human activity on marine ecosystems. Yet, in practice, they facilitate development through the establishment of mitigation measures. So contrary to what we may think at face value, EIAs, like environmental law generally, are not designed to protect the environment, but rather, to regulate human activity and control environmental degradation.
OVL’s vision to evolve EIAs serves two primary purposes:
(1) providing a mechanism to ensure implementation and enforcement of Ocean Rights (and RoN) laws; (taking law from paper to practice); and
(2) ensuring EIAs provide for effective marine protection while improving ecosystem resilience (implementing the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment under UNCLOS).
The project's first stage includes a global consultation process, development of a white paper, and the development of an evolved legal framework already being integrated in the whale personhood initiative (see below).
The International Scientific Committee of the OOSC proposes Ocean Rights as recommendation for Heads of State and Government at UNOC
Ten themes guided the official recommendation delivered from the OOSC to Heads of States and Government at the start of UNOC3. Specifically, Theme 1: Inspire responsibility and respect for the Ocean, integrating across knowledge systems, included the following recommendations:
1.1. Inspire Responsibility and Respect: Humanity’s extractive relationship with the Ocean must be transformed to one of responsibility, respect and reverence;
1.2. Value and Include Diverse Knowledge Systems: Recognising the global importance of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) as stewards of the land and Ocean, we call for the amplification of diverse value and knowledge systems. Indigenous knowledge and scientific research together strengthen our understanding of and connection with the Ocean;
1.3. Recognise Human and Non-Human Rights to a Healthy Ocean: Embracing the intrinsic value of the Ocean and its inhabitants is consistent with the emerging concept of ‘Rights of Nature’ to exist and thrive. We advocate for legal personhood initiatives for marine ecosystems to advance conservation and raise awareness; and
1.4. Advance Initiatives to Promote Ocean Stewardship, Guardianship, and Trusteeship: Initiatives empowering IPLCs and other Ocean representatives are needed to increase Ocean stewardship, guardianship, and trusteeship. Shifting to collective responsibility maintains ecosystem integrity and respects the intrinsic value of the Ocean.
These recommendations underscore a pivotal shift towards recognising the Ocean's intrinsic value and integrating diverse knowledge systems to foster a more responsible and respectful human-Ocean relationship through the recognition of the Ocean’s inherent rights. Such initiatives are being advanced by OVL and partners globally.
Ocean Rights continued to make waves into the second week in Nice at UNOC3
OVL and partners organised and hosted 7 events alongside UNOC3, including events specific to Antarctica, the Role of Law in Ocean Literacy, the Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights and Whale Personhood.
Key advancements for Whales
Princess Angelika Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho from the Kingdom of Tonga announced their intent to be the first State in the Pacific to codify legal personhood for whales. (If you have any questions regarding legal personhood, please refer to our first blog on this topic). This is an outcome of a two year effort that began with the He Whakaputanga Moana (Declaration for the Ocean), a nonbinding declaration (not a binding treaty) signed by the late Maori King Te Arikinui Tuheitia Paki and Indigenous Pacific leaders in March 2024.
Accompanying the announcement from Princess Angelika, the Moananui Blueprint and Draft Moananui Sanctuary Agreement was launched. The Moananui Sanctuary Agreement is a bold initiative establishing a strategically identified 12.5 million km² interconnected network of dynamic marine protected areas across the Pacific. This commits PSIDS and IPLCs to safeguard whales and ecosystems, drawing on traditional ecological knowledge and fostering community-based monitoring. The Agreement sets key principles for collaboration, including the Te Mana o te Tohorā (Authority of the Whale) Legal Personhood framework for national level adoption, shifting human perspectives towards fundamental rights for these sentient beings and recognising their intrinsic connection with Pacific communities.
This is not an initiative to put whales into the market, but rather ensure that whales are visible to the market and legal systems, incentives and diverse values drive changes in human behavior, and financing for conservation is put in the hands of those communities who are traditional stewards of the Ocean and are most vulnerable as a result of human impacts.
This effort is led by The Moananui Sanctuary Trust & Pacific Whale Fund in partnership with Blue Green Future, Ocean Vision Legal, Simmons & Simmons, Together for the Better Good, Avaaz, Animal Welfare Japan, Whale Seeker, Beneath the Waves, Circular Bioeconomy Alliance and Huelo Matamoana Trust. Together they also launched the ‘I’m a Person Too’ campaign, now sitting at nearly 440,000 signatures! Help us get to half a million; sign and share today!
The relationship between Ocean Rights and Ocean Literacy grows
Together with partners CetLaw, IOC-UNESCO and the Pacific Whale Fund, we held a panel in the Green Zone ‘Giving the Ocean a Voice: The Role of Law in Ocean Literacy.’ Women leaders engaged in a thoughtful discussion on Ocean Literacy, what it is, and how legal frameworks can better incorporate and respond to:
Traditional and Indigenous human perspectives which are often overlooked in Scientific literature;
Rapidly evolving scientific knowledge; and
The Ocean’s intrinsic value and right to thrive, beyond human interests.
OVL sees law as a key lever for change, essential to our efforts to increase Ocean Literacy. This is because law is more than just a set of rules; it reflects our societal values and significantly shapes our relationship with the Ocean. While many environmental laws are designed to manage human activity rather than actively protect and restore ecosystems, we can shift this paradigm by integrating Ocean Rights into our legal systems. By recognising the Ocean as a living entity with intrinsic value, rather than merely a resource to be exploited, we cultivate a deeper understanding and respect for our interconnected relationship with the Ocean This fundamental value shift, expressed through law and communicated effectively through language, fosters care and compels greater protection for our marine environments, ultimately contributing to a more Ocean-literate society. (Read this engaging paper on this topic by partner Mana Tugend).
The panel discussion was only the beginning. OVL, as a member of the UN Ocean Decade’s (UNOD) Coordinating Office on Connecting People and Ocean, is working with IOC-UNESCO and other partners to further develop Ocean Literacy Projects in synergy with Ocean Rights. In fact, OVL’s Ocean Rights initiative was accepted as a Blue Thread Project, acknowledged as a project that is advancing the principles of the Venice Declaration for Ocean Literacy Action, which includes Ocean Rights as a tool for transforming the human-Ocean relationship and advancing an Ocean-literate society.
Additionally, OVL contributed to workshops and the development of a policy statement for Diving Into UNOC 3 - a collaborative initiative between RISE UP, Oceano Azul Foundation and Fauna & Flora International. The policy statement was developed collaboratively by 89 organizations from 28 countries and includes critical directions from OVL on Ocean Literacy. The key message to guide decision makers on Ocean Literacy included the call for governments to “synchronise Ocean Literacy and Ocean policy to ensure ethical and moral considerations drive public awareness and behaviour change for the Ocean, with support from appropriate incentives and disincentives." OVL offered the language of ethical and moral considerations as a bridge between Ocean Literacy and Ocean Rights; where the dominant Western ethical framework emphasises rights, integrating relationality and care into Ocean Literacy can foster a more ethical and sustainable human-Ocean relationship and where the principle of moral consideration is an underpinning principle of Ocean Rights.
Despite collective action falling short- Ocean Rights gained momentum
As Tosca Ballerini reveals in her op-ed featuring Ocean Rights, “UNOC3 concluded with some encouraging voluntary commitments, but what remains to be done is much more than what has been promised.” Truly transformative change requires ambition and innovation away from business as usual.
Specifically, local organisations Wild Legal and Longitude 181 brought Ocean Rights full force to civil society and stakeholders in France. Together with OVL, the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature an, Earth Law Center and the UK Ocean Rights Coalition, a petition and recommendation to include Ocean Rights into the final political outcome document, the Nice Ocean Action Plan, gained traction. Ultimately, States are not ready to fully recognise and respect Rights of Nature or Ocean Rights and more socialisation of the concept is needed.
However, some States and actors stepped up!
The Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean stakeholder group, of which OVL has been an active part of, included recommendations that OVL strategically suggested, which served as options where more ambition can be instilled and a bridge can be provided to the full recognition and respect for Ocean Rights (para 3 (specific reference to the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment) para 4; para 6quin; and para 14ter). OVL’s input on Ocean Rights was also previously included in the group’s summary reports.
Mauritius’ Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam announced that he hopes to adopt reforms “that will enshrine the rights of nature in our constitutional framework.” And OVL’s CEO and Founder, Dr. Anna von Rebay, delivered an intervention at the 10th Ocean Action Panel not only on behalf of OVL, but on behalf of the Ocean itself. “As noted in the UN Pact for the Future, a fundamental shift in how humanity relates to and uses the Ocean is vital in order to achieve a future in harmony with Nature. Both the enforcement of existing law, and the creation of new law is needed. We can create this shift and an ethical human-Ocean relationship by respecting the Ocean’s inherent rights and intrinsic value as the life support system of our planet.”
So what comes next?
How can we continue to socialise Ocean Rights and gain State support?
OVL works to ensure that international law recognises and respects the inherent rights and intrinsic value of the Ocean. This goal does not begin or end at one conference, nor is it limited to international law (we support governments and actors at all levels working to put Ocean Rights into practice), but is a long-term effort that needs ongoing commitment and learning, as well as global coordination and grassroots support.
We are establishing the infrastructure necessary to create an inclusive movement for Ocean Rights. We are developing and maintaining an Ocean Rights platform, a digital and central hub for education, strategic coordination, and movement-building, and spearheading the initiative towards a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights (UDOR) by 2030. The website will be the first step towards launching the Ocean Rights Alliance which will be formally launched in 2026.
You can provide input to the global consultation process and help demonstrate the need for an evolved EIA framework. The survey only takes 5-10 minutes and your input will help create a new vision for EIAs- one where they maintain ecosystem health and intrinsic values, rather than merely prevent significant harm. Access the survey here.
As a stepping stone towards a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights, OVL drafted a motion that was accepted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for this year’s World Conservation Congress. Sponsored by Gallifrey Foundation and the Governments of Panama and Vanuatu, Motion 056 calls upon Members, States and organisations to conserve the intrinsic value of the Ocean and engage in dialogue to create and adopt an international framework for an ethical human-Ocean relationship. Read OVL’s policy brief to learn more! Are you an IUCN Voting Member? Stay connected, share any concerns, and join us for upcoming webinars to advance the motion.
We are developing toolkits, guidance frameworks and compliance standards to ensure the effective scaling and implementation of Ocean Rights. If you missed it, we launched the Ocean Rights Communications and Advocacy Toolkit prior to UNOC. The toolkit provides clarity and tips to effectively communicate and advance Ocean Rights based on 9 years of practical experience leading and drafting Rights of Nature campaigns globally, as well as robust legal analysis and comparative research. Download and share the toolkit today!
If you want to join the movement for Ocean Rights, or need support creating your own campaigns and initiatives, do not hesitate to contact us at info@oceanvisionlegal.com.
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