The 2025 UN Ocean Conference is being held at a key time, with just a few years remaining for the international community to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Marine ecosystems are increasingly under pressure from overexploitation of resources, pollution, climate change and loss of biodiversity. The health of the world's oceans is crucial to the proper functioning of the earth and its climate systems. To this end, Switzerland supports stepping up international ocean governance based on international law, scientific data and multilateral cooperation.
During her speech at the summit, Ambassador Baumann reaffirmed Switzerland's commitment to the protection and sustainable development of the oceans as well as the need for science-based decision-making. With the aim of improving the complexities of ocean governance, the Swiss delegation reiterated the importance of multilateralism and advocated an inclusive, rules-based approach that brings together state, scientific and economic players, as well as civil society. Baumann also called for greater innovation in order to meet the major challenges facing the world's oceans.
Political declaration
A political declaration, negotiated in advance in New York, will be submitted for adoption at the end of the conference on Friday 13 June. Participants have also presented a list of voluntary commitments on ocean preservation. The Swiss delegation has presented its priorities in line with the Maritime Strategy 2023–27, which emphasises Switzerland's responsibility, despite being a landlocked country, to contribute to greater understanding and better governance of the world's oceans in order to improve their resilience in the face of growing environmental pressures. Switzerland also joined the declaration launched by France to protect the oceans against deep-sea mining.
The Swiss delegation to Nice, led by Ambassador Alexandra Baumann, head of the FDFA's Prosperity and Sustainability Division, also includes Ambassador Tania Cavassini from the Swiss embassy in Paris, Dona Bertarelli and Professor Thomas Frölicher.
Address for enquiries:
FDFA Communication Bundeshaus West 3003 Bern +41 58 460 55 55 kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
