U.S. should ratify UNCLOS to be able to contribute to emerging consensus on global environmental protection

A fourth reason arguing for United States accession to the convention is the building global consensus on management of the environment. Part XII of the convention deals extensively with the protection and preservation of the marine environment. Part XII covers a wide array of issues running from general principles, to global and regional cooperation, to technical assistance, to monitoring and environmental assessment, to responsibility and liability." The inclusion of strong environmental protection measures in the convention was an early and enduring goal of the United States. Given the fact that the language of Part XII creates a diffuse but effective international mechanism for control of a significant amount of marine pollution, it would seem especially advantageous for the United States to agree to the convention in order to ensure the maintenance of a stable regime for environmental protection.¹⁹

Rear Admiral William Schachte, former judge advocate general of the Navy and active participant with the U.S. delegation to the Third U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), has pointed out that the convention provides a unique, outstanding framework for addressing and resolving environmental concerns. He notes that the convention is far superior to any of the numerous conventions and protocols addressing marine pollution that have been attempted over the past 4 decades and that it strikes a delicate balance on environmental issues.²⁰