The United Nations on June 19 adopted a landmark legally binding international marine biodiversity agreement to govern the high seas following nearly two decades of fierce negotiations. The agreement, known as the High Seas Treaty or the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty, was adopted by the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction…

Analysis The World Health Assembly (WHA), the governing body of the World Health Organisation (WHO), met for its annual meeting in Geneva from 21 to 30 May this year. On the agenda was the discussion of a third of the proposed 307 amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 and the latest version of…

A British MP has warned that a proposed Word Health Organisation (WHO) treaty on pandemic prevention and preparedness represents “an assault on our freedoms” and would create a “vast public health surveillance mechanism.” On Monday, MPs debated whether the government should hold a referendum on the UK’s involvement in the WHO pandemic treaty (pdf). The debate…

Russia late Friday blocked agreement on the final document of a four-week review of the U.N. treaty considered the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament which criticized its military takeover of Europe’s largest nuclear plant soon after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, an act that has raised fears of a nuclear accident. Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy director of the…

The First People’s Assembly of Victoria and the Victorian government have reached a historic agreement on the establishment of an independent authority to oversee Treaty negotiations and resolve disputes between Indigenous Victorians and the government. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams will introduce the Treaty Authority Bill in parliament on Tuesday, allowing the Treaty Authority—the first…

The Northern Territory (NT) government on Wednesday appointed Australia’s most senior Indigenous barrister Tony McAvoy SC (Senior Counsel) to the role of Acting Treaty Commissioner. McAvoy’s posting comes after the territory’s first treaty commissioner, Prof. Mick Dodson, resigned from the position in June. As treaty commissioner, McAvoy will facilitate consultation with Aboriginal people in the…

Consultations on Queensland’s proposed treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have made steady progress in Cairns, significantly raising the profile of Queensland’s ongoing Path to Treaty work. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Craig Crawford and the newly-appointed Treaty Advancement Committee had consultations in Cairns on Thursday. The committee is charged with…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a law extending the New START nuclear arms control treaty, the last major pact of its kind between Russia and the United States, by five years, the Kremlin said in a statement. Russia’s lower and upper houses of parliament voted unanimously to ratify the extension on Wednesday. Russia…

MOSCOW—Russia said on Friday that it will withdraw from an international treaty allowing surveillance flights over military facilities after the U.S. exit from the pact, compounding the challenges faced by the incoming administration of president-elect Joe Biden. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty last year…