Vietnam runs for the first time as a judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

Vietnam has introduced Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, Director of the East Sea Institute, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, as a candidate for the position of judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for the 2026-2035 term.

View of the international workshop “Sea level rise in the Pacific region: current situation, legal issues and assessment from the perspective of the Law of the Sea” held at the UN headquarters. Photo: Thanh Tuan/VNA reporter in New York (USA).

According to a VNA correspondent in New York, within the framework of the 34th Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea taking place from June 10-14 in New York (USA), Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu, Head of the Vietnamese delegation, chaired the international workshop "Sea level rise in the Pacific region: current situation, legal issues and assessment from the perspective of maritime law" and the annual meeting of the Group of Friends of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention and to announce Vietnam's nomination of Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, Director of the East Sea Institute, Diplomatic Academy, as a candidate for the position of judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for the 2026-2035 term. In recent years, responding to and adapting to climate change, including rising sea levels, has been one of the top concerns of countries, becoming a topic of discussion at many forums within the framework of the United Nations. The international workshop on rising sea levels from the perspective of maritime law was co-organized by Vietnam and a number of member countries of the UNCLOS Friends Group including Fiji, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Oman, with the co-sponsorship of Australia, Canada, Germany, the Philippines, and Singapore.

A large number of international experts and scholars attended the international workshop “Sea level rise in the Pacific region: current situation, legal issues and assessment from the perspective of the Law of the Sea”. Photo: Thanh Tuan/VNA correspondent in New York (USA).

About 100 delegates, experts on maritime law from more than 60 countries, scholars, and representatives of several UN agencies attended the workshop. In his opening remarks and meeting, Permanent Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu emphasized the historical significance of UNCLOS for the development of international law. As the “Constitution of the Oceans”, UNCLOS is the most comprehensive legal framework regulating all activities at sea, and is the basis for countries to cooperate in managing oceans and seas in an orderly and sustainable manner. Vietnam affirmed that it will continue to promote dialogue and multilateral cooperation in implementing and protecting the universality of UNCLOS with the 115 members of the Group of Friends. At the workshop, Vietnamese legal experts including Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hong Thao, a member of the UN International Law Commission, shared his assessment from the perspective of Vietnam - a coastal country most affected by climate change, including the risk of rising sea levels, suggesting continued compliance with and full implementation of UNCLOS provisions in the process of addressing emerging challenges in current marine and ocean governance such as marine environmental pollution, climate change and rising sea levels, while calling for support for the preservation of baselines, boundaries of maritime zones established from baselines and maritime delimitation results agreed upon by countries through negotiations or established by international judicial bodies to maintain stability and legal order at sea.

Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu, Head of the Vietnamese delegation, and Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang (right), Head of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN, co-chaired the workshop. Photo: Thanh Tuan/VNA correspondent in New York (USA)

The workshop was organized at the initiative of Vietnam, as one of the important contributions to the preparation for the upcoming UN High-Level Conference on Sea Level Rise in September 2024. The large participation of countries at the workshop once again affirmed the common interest of countries in the value and role of UNCLOS in the management and use of seas and oceans in general and in cooperation to address new challenges such as climate change and sea level rise in the coming time.

Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu speaks at a meeting with members of the UNCLOS Friends Group in New York. Photo: Thanh Tuan/VNA correspondent in New York (USA)

The Friends Group is an informal, flexible form of coordination aimed at enhancing cooperation among a number of countries with common interests on a specific issue at the UN and multilateral forums. The UNCLOS Friends Group was initiated and co-chaired by Vietnam and Germany in 2021. The Group currently has 115 members from all geographical regions, including 12 core countries responsible for coordinating the Group's activities. In recent times, the Group has organized many activities such as workshops, seminars, and regular meetings to discuss and promote cooperation on issues related to the implementation of UNCLOS and the management and sustainable use of oceans and seas in general.

Thanh Tuan - Hoai Thanh - Quang Huy (Vietnam News Agency)

Source : https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/viet-nam-lan-dau-tien-ung-cu-vao-vi-tri-tham-phan-toa-an-quoc-te-ve-luat-bien-20240614124232928.htm