UN Convention on the Law of Sea is the international agreement that resulted from the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. It provides a regulatory framework for the use of the world’s seas and oceans, to ensure the conservation and equitable usage of resources and the marine environment and to ensure the protection and preservation of the living resources of the sea. 167 countries plus the UN Observer state Palestine, as well as the Cook Islands, Niue and the European Union have joined in the Convention.
The convention has created 3 new institutions on the international scene, 1. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, 2. International Seabed Authority, 3. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. UN has no direct operational role in the implementation of the Convention.