TBTI commitment to Blue Justice

TBTI has been promoting the notion of ‘Blue Justice’ through various platforms. One of our most prominent efforts was the registration of Blue Justice for Small-Scale Fisheries as a voluntary commitment to the Ocean Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14). Our pledge joins more than 1,400 other voluntary commitments to save our oceans, all registered on a UN platform.

The commitment, which is part of our ongoing 'Blue Justice' campaign, calls attention to the current discourse about Blue Growth/Blue Economy, which poses potential risks to the rights of small-scale fisheries to the fishing livelihoods, which include access to fisheries resources, to coastal and ocean space, and to local, national and international markets. The campaign is urging for the social justice of small-scale fisheries be recognized not only as a basic right, but also an important condition for the realization of the UN Sustainable Goals and implementation of the SSF Guidelines. 

Planning is under way for the next United Nations Ocean Conference, which will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, in June 2020. The conference theme is "Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions". Registration for non-accredited organizations is now opened for those who wish to participate in the conference.

The first round of conference registration is open from 15 September – 15 November 2019. Application must be make through the conference website.