Alaskan Legislature asks Congress to ratify Law of the Sea Treaty

Alaska State House of Representatives has formally asked U.S. Congress to ratify the U.N.’s Law of the Sea Treaty. House Joint Resolution 19 was passed by both the House and Senate of the state and states that by not joining the Law of the Sea Treaty “the United States is forfeiting sovereign rights to and international recognition of an expansion of United States resource jurisdiction by as much as 1,000,000 square kilometers of ocean”. Further, the Resolution notes that the U.S. cannot participate in deliberations to amend provisions of the Convention that relate to oil, gas, and mineral resources in the Arctic Ocean, the conduct of essential scientific research, the right of the United States to the use of the seas, navigation rules and other environmental concerns.

The full text of the resolution is available here.

Listen to Alaska Rep. Herron talk about why he wishes to ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty here.