20 May 2025
Thank you, Mr President,
I would like to thank the Secretary General, Ms Travlos and Professor Bueger for their contributions.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Greece for organising today’s important meeting, and to Prime Minister Mitsotakis for leading today’s debate. The oceans and seas serve as a vital link between the continents and our nations. Maritime security is a cornerstone of the modern interconnected world and of multilateralism itself.
Mr President, let me make four points.
Firstly, let me stress that Denmark reaffirms the centrality and universality of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We call on all states to respect UNCLOS as the legal framework within which all activities in the ocean and seas must be carried out. Maritime territorial conflicts must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS.
Freedom of navigation is central to international trade and economic development. With one of the world’s largest commercial fleets, Denmark is committed to keeping sea lanes open, and ensuring the safety of all seafarers is absolutely paramount.
Denmark has a long maritime history and our focus far transcends our immediate neighbourhood. In recent years, we have responded to complex maritime security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea, in the Red Sea, off the Horn of Africa, and in the Strait of Hormuz. We have done this through multinational and coordinated efforts in response to piracy and other attacks on civilian commercial vessels, to ensure freedom of navigation and global maritime security.
This reflects Denmark’s steadfast commitment to supporting our principled approach to international law and maritime security through tangible and meaningful contributions. We urge all countries to shoulder their responsibility to this end.
Secondly, Mr President,
We need to look at maritime security in a holistic way; challenges are often linked to onshore instability in coastal states, including poverty, law enforcement challenges, and climate change.
The UN is the best framework to address these issues in a comprehensive way. For example, the Council’s debates on international piracy since 2008 contributed to various processes including security, judicial, law enforcement, and outreach to civil society. Together, these processes contributed to a sharp reduction in attacks on commercial shipping in the Western Indian Ocean and in the Gulf of Guinea.
Piracy and other attacks on commercial vessels undermine the resilience of interconnected trade networks and threaten global food and energy security.
Organised crime groups operating at sea – including drugs and weapons trafficking, people smuggling, sanctions evasion, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing – further weaken often already fragile states. These activities can deprive coastal states of the resources and revenue they need for economic development and prosperity.
Denmark is working with several developing countries in building national and regional ownership and capacity. This includes assisting with maritime domain awareness, improving coordination and ensuring the sustainable use of their maritime resources.
Third, Mr President,
We must address new and complex threats in the maritime domain.
Protecting critical maritime infrastructure is vital for the functioning of our interconnected societies. Attacks on such infrastructure are deplorable and must be prevented. Coastal states’ capacities to monitor and respond to maritime threats above and below the surface need to be enhanced.
The increasing reliance on substandard vessels to evade sanctions, including UN sanctions pose a great risk to the environment, seafarers, maritime safety and security. These vessels are often old, poorly maintained, insufficiently insured and sail with their transponders off.
This is a challenge not only in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, but also the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, in the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere. If we do not act and ensure effective enforcement, it will only be a matter of time before an oil spill destroy a coastline somewhere.
Finally, Mr President,
Denmark hopes that today’s High-Level Open Debate will start a discussion on strengthening our collective response to the maritime threats to peace and security, economic prosperity, law and order, and sustainable development.
Denmark firmly supports a strengthened role for the United Nations in tackling critical maritime security challenges. We believe that enhancing cooperation on information sharing, capacity building, and exchanging best practices would be in our collective interest.
Together, we can ensure a safer, more secure maritime domain for all, fostering stability and prosperity across the globe.
Thank you.