The presentation will provide an overview of the role and history of the United Nations for the maritime industry with a focus on the negotiations leading to the adoption of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the work of the General Assembly and its subsidiary bodies, as well as the United Nations specialised agencies that are relevant to the maritime industry, in particular the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

It will also describe the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out, including regarding safety of navigation and the protection and preservation of the marine environment. 

The Convention established for the first time a single set of basic rules for the oceans and represented an unprecedented attempt by the international community to regulate all aspects of the resources of the sea and uses of the ocean.  It also provided the framework for the further development of specific areas of the law of the sea, particularly through the work of competent international organisations, such as the IMO and the ILO.