Strategy and programme of action for marine/ocean affairs in Africa

Abstract

With the sixtieth ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in November 1993, the Convention will enter into force The concept of the Exclusive Economic Zone, which is what the extended jurisdiction is called in the Law of the Sea, is a concept that was developed by African nations during the preparatory period before the convening of the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. The new Law of the Sea also saw significant contributions by African States which, along with other developing countries from Asia and Latin America, negotiated and bargained hard for the compromise package that this Law represents. But the coming into force of the new Law is only the first step. States have now to organize themselves if the hard-fought advantages achieved are to be converted into benefits for their populations.