5. The Assembly notes that the preservation of biodiversity of seas and oceans is one of the objectives ofthe Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (ETS No. 104, “BernConvention”) and considers that this convention provides a good basis to contribute to better protection ofseas and oceans around Europe. The activities of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention should befurther strengthened to protect marine ecosystems effectively and safeguard the rights of future generations.

6. 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 Agreement on Port State Measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

6.1.3. the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, of 1972 (“London Dumping Convention”);

6.1.4. the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships of 1973 to prevent pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes;

6.1.5. the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the European Union Habitats directive on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, of 1992, which protect the seabed and marine species amongst other;

6.2. sign and ratify the UN High Seas Treaty so that it can reach 60 ratifications and 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 in their national mitigation, adaptation and resilience policies to tackle the climate crisis 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. ensure the rights enshrined in the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) and provide intelligible information to the public;

6.7. raise public awareness on 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 of the UN international legally binding instrument to put an end to plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, in order to address the entire life cycle of plastic waste and not only their release into oceans and seas, to be completed by the end of 2024,;

6.9. provide for effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for those responsible for any marine pollution, including the possibility of prison sentences in case of deliberate pollution;

6.10. strengthen their legal arsenal and capacity 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 Organisation with a view to bringing the human dimension of maritime activities to the fore, promoting the application of key European human rights standards so that each sector of global maritime activity would meet a high level of protection of human rights;

6.12. promote the codification of the term “ecocide” at national, regional, European and international levels;

6.13. ask national parliaments to provide awareness raising for their parliamentarians on the issue of the right to a healthy environment in general and in relation to marine environment and maritime law;

6.14. support Black sea mine clearance initiatives and activities.

II SÉRIE-D — NÚMERO 4 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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