The next topic in the Foreign Policy Association's Great Decisions 2024 program is "The High Seas Treaty." The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas establishes a comprehensive legal framework for activities related to global oceans. After decades of negotiation, the Convention entered into force in 1994. In 2023, about 200 UN members adopted a biodiversity agreement. The United States is not a party to the Convention. Background materials in the Great Decisions booklet and video cover the wide-ranging importance of oceans to national security, foreign relations, the environment, and food security. 

Booklets on Great Decisions 2024 topics are available for $35 from the Foreign Policy Association at https://www.fpa.org/great_decisions/?act=gd_materials. The final 2024 topic is pandemic preparedness, which we will discuss on June 5.

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