“Some countries do not agree that the oceans belong to everyone, and that their selfishness prevents a global agreement to protect these vast areas of the planet,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Guterres, along with senior officials and scientists from more than 120 countries, attended the five-day United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, as well as activists frustrated by the failure to develop international rules to ensure the sustainability of the ocean.

He emphasized the importance of the oceans to every person on the planet, stressing that “the world’s waters are ours” without mentioning the countries he had in mind, as the UN hopes the conference, which began on Monday, will give new impetus to the protracted effort to reach an agreement on a global oceans convention. According to the United Nations, “the conference should adopt a declaration, although not binding on signatory states, it can help realize and facilitate the protection and conservation of the oceans and their resources.”