The Obama administration, this month, decided to take up the fairly unrewarding task of pushing for the ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. In a piece for FP today, James Kraska explains why ratification is long overdue.
The treaty, which lays out rules for both military use of the seas and
extraction of resources, went into effect in 1994, has been accepted by
161 nations, and was supported by both the Clinton and Bush
administrations as well as U.S. Naval commanders. However it will still
face a tough fight in Congress where many lawmakers feel it would
constitute an unwarranted intrusion on U.S. sovereignty.
But the Law of the Sea is hardly the only major international agreement
waiting for either a U.S. signature, or for Congress to approve
ratification. Here’s a quick look at a few of the other international treaties and conventions where the United Statates is conspicuous by its absence:
