STATEMENT OF UG OGP

On 5 December 2008, the United Nations General Assembly resolved to designate 8 June as World Oceans Day.

The resolution of the General Assembly to designate 8 June as World Oceans Day represented not only the culmination of long years of advocacy to bring attention to the integral role the Ocean plays in our way of life; but also, a global commitment to prioritize the vitality, health and resilience of the Oceans, so that future generations may continue to enjoy the diverse benefits the ocean bestows on us.

On this 8th June 2022, we at University of Ghana Ocean Governance Project, restate our commitment to the Oceans. We do so conscious of our responsibilities towards the oceans and of our efforts to build ocean governance expertise that is vital to safeguarding the viability of the Oceans.

As part of our work, we are developing knowledge systems and capacity building initiatives that reflect a consciousness that the problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need to be considered through an integrated, interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach. With the support of our partners, we continue to build cross-sectoral cooperation and partnerships towards developing innovative approaches to sustainably govern the Oceans as well as the implementation and observance of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In awareness of the strategic role Ghana can play in leading ocean related policy-making in the West-African Sub-region and on the Continent as well as the persisting need for critical ocean-related expertise to lead that process, We at the Ocean Governance Project have partnered with the Norwegian Center for the Law of the Sea, with support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation – Norad to develop two new postgraduate programmes in Ocean Governance and the Law of the Sea. We are optimistic that these programmes will start running by the last quarter of this year; and that they will add value to the implementation of ocean related policies on the Continent.

We hope that today provides an opportunity for all governmental and non-g0vernmental ocean stakeholders to take stock of such ongoing ocean-related initiatives at the international, regional, national and local level and look ahead toward opportunities for enhanced inter-agency coordination and cooperation on ocean and coastal issues beyond 2022.

We are certain that the various events being organized across the world today, will strengthen global conviction that only by working together can we face the existing and novel challenges facing our ocean.