Commonwealth assists Tonga in confirming jurisdictional limits

The Commonwealth Secretariat is assisting Tonga in its work to develop a submission to the United Nations to confirm its offshore jurisdictional limits and secure access to potentially lucrative natural resources.

The programme aims to provide legal advice and technical assistance to the Government of Tonga.

This assistance will enable the country to exercise its rights under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea -- a multilateral treaty that sets out rules and principles to govern the management of all ocean space.

Under this convention, a state seeking to claim extended areas of continental shelf beyond the traditional 200 nautical mile limit must make a submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf before May 2009. To date, nine countries have made submissions to the Commission.

“The making of a submission to the Commission represents a once-only opportunity for a coastal state such as Tonga to confirm the outer limits of the continental shelf and thereby secure access to potentially lucrative natural resources,” said Joshua Brien, Adviser in the Economic and Legal Section at the Secretariat.

“These include oil and gas reserves, and sedentary marine living organisms that are located beyond 200 nautical miles.”

Other countries that are benefiting from the Secretariat’s work in assisting member countries to develop and make submissions to the Commission include Kenya, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea.

Secretariat Links:

• Economic and Legal Advice
• Country Profile: Tonga