Belgium and Chile compete to host high seas treaty secretariat
In January 2026, an international treaty protecting biodiversity on the high seas will enter into force for the first time. Belgium is lobbying intensively on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York to bring the treaty secretariat to Brussels, but faces a formidable rival in Chile.
At the St. Regis Hotel on Tuesday evening, prominent American environmental activists, including actress Sigourney Weaver and former presidential candidate John Kerry, joined presidents, ministers, scientists, and philanthropists in celebrating the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ) finally entering into force after years of negotiations. With 69 sanctioning member states, the required threshold of 60 was comfortably exceeded this week.
Protecting half the planet
The high seas cover roughly half the planet’s surface and two-thirds of the ocean, yet biodiversity there has been scarcely protected until now. The treaty seeks to change that, creating a legal framework for marine protected areas beyond national jurisdiction. Its target is to safeguard 30 per cent of the ocean from human impacts such as overfishing and pollution by 2030.
To manage this process, an administration must be established. Belgium hopes it will be in Brussels. While the economic impact is modest (initially around 15 staff), the candidacy is part of Belgium’s broader drive to attract UN agencies and develop the capital further as a diplomatic hub.
© HIGH SEAS ALLIANCE
Chile and Belgiums make their cases
But Chile’s port city of Valparaíso is a strong contender, as president Gabriel Boric underlined at the St. Regis. With a coastline of 6,435 kilometres, Chile is a world leader in marine biodiversity protection.
Around half of its territorial waters are protected, it was the second country to ratify the treaty, and it has already launched a pioneering coalition to safeguard the first areas on the high seas. “With all due respect to Belgium, Chile is a much better candidate,” Boric concluded.
Support for Chile soon came from an unexpected quarter. France, which has played a leading role in driving ratification, weighed in with president Emmanuel Macron praising Chile’s stance on deep-sea mining and indicating he had already pledged his backing to Boric. “I didn’t even know Belgium was a candidate at the time,” he admitted.
"We’ll just keep campaigning"
Belgian officials were surprised the issue was raised so openly, but minister of justice and the North Sea Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) was undeterred. “France is a country like any other. We’ll just keep campaigning,” she said. “We also have our strengths: solid expertise in marine sciences, strong diplomatic experience and infrastructure, and Brussels is easily accessible, including for countries in the south.”
Verlinden remains convinced of Belgium’s chances. Though the country’s coastline is just 65 kilometres, it has, she argued at a pitch event on Wednesday, been “transformed into a platform for global leadership in marine sciences.” The event at Belgium’s UN mission attracted around a hundred participants, including ministers, ambassadors and UN officials, to demonstrate support for Brussels’ candidacy.
Whether that is enough will be decided next year at the first conference of treaty parties. Each country has one vote, whether France or a small island nation like Palau.
© PHOTO AURIGA NUSANTARA / AFP
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