Clinton, military leaders plead for sea treaty

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and military leaders implored conservative Republicans on Wednesday to approve a long-spurned high seas treaty, saying it would create jobs, open a new path to oil, gas and other resources and bolster national security.

Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a rare joint appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to make the case for the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The United States is the only major nation that has refused to sign the treaty, which was concluded in 1982 and been in force since 1994.

But the committee chairman announced at the start of the hearing that he would not push for a Senate vote before the November elections. Still, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., insisted that approval of the treaty is necessary because the United States "has lived by the rules, but we don't shape the rules."

Since the Reagan administration, the U.S. has abided by the rules of the treaty, which is endorsed by 161 countries and the European Union.

Clinton and the military leaders said it was now time for the U.S. to grab a seat at the table in international negotiations on navigational rights and seabed mining.

"One hundred and sixty nations have acceded to it, and we say, 'To hell with them, we're not going to participate in that,'" Panetta said. "Then 160 nations are going to determine what happens" and the U.S. is on the sidelines.

He said the United States repeatedly insists that Iran and North Korea follow international rules. Failing to approve the sea treaty, Panetta said, undermines U.S. authority.

The Clintons are uber globalists. Bill implemented Agenda 21 administratively under his reign and now Obama tightens the noose.

http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/spec/aress19-2.htm
UN General Assembly
September 17, 1997
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Oceans and seas (Excerpted)

36. “...There is a need to continue to improve decision-making at the national, regional and global levels. To address the need for improving global decision-making on the marine environment, there is an urgent need for Governments to implement decision 4/15 of the Commission on Sustainable Development, 23/ in which the Commission, inter alia, called for a periodic intergovernmental review by the Commission of all aspects of the marine environment and its related issues, as described in chapter 17 of Agenda 21, and for which the overall legal framework was provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. There is a need for concerted action by all countries and for improved cooperation to assist developing countries in implementing the relevant agreements and instruments in order that they may participate effectively in the sustainable use, conservation and management of their fishery resources, as provided for in the Convention and other international legal instruments, and achieve integrated coastal zone management. In that context, there is an urgent need for:

(a) All Governments to ratify or to accede to the relevant agreements as soon as possible and to implement effectively such agreements as well as relevant voluntary instruments;

(b) All Governments to implement General Assembly resolution 51/189 of 16 December 1996, including the strengthening of institutional links to be established between the relevant intergovernmental mechanisms involved in the development and implementation of integrated coastal zone management. Following progress on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and bearing in mind Principle 13 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, there is a need to strengthen the implementation of existing international and regional agreements on marine pollution, with a view in particular to ensuring better contingency planning, response, and liability and compensation mechanisms;...”

Here is agenda 21 on oceans http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/res_agenda21_17.shtml

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