The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is one of the most extraordinary achievements in the history of international law. It became international law in 1994 when the 60th country ratified the Convention. Now, as of July, 2000, 133 countries have ratified it. Of those relatively few countries that have not, two stand out: USA and Canada.

All the countries of the European Community have ratified the Convention, as have Japan and China, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, the Russian Federation and most of the Scandinavian countries. As countries that have not ratified it, Canada and the US are in the company of Albania, Burundi, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan and San Marino, hardly players of major significance on the world's stage.

We can ask why the US has not ratified the Convention of the Law of the Sea, but there the political complexity is both greater and easier to recognize. Despite an apparent desire to get the Convention before Congress in order to vote on ratification, the unreasonably powerful Jesse Helms, chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has held it up in his Committee, while President Clinton has spent several years obsessed by other distractions. The US adheres to the parts of the Convention that it accepts, but it also has the strategic concerns of the very powerful. Canada's failure to ratify the Convention isn't likely to be related to the delay by the USA, unless we really are the puppet of the Last of the Superpowers.

What's happening here? The UN Law of the Sea is truly remarkable. It has established a 12-mile territorial sea for coastal nations, guarantees passage of all ships through international straits, prohibits dumping of industrial waste on the continental shelf, and considers further questions related to military passage, pollution and ocean mining. Most critically, it recognizes that each coastal country has a further qualified territory, extending 200 miles offshore. Each coastal country is responsible for the management of its resources within those 200 miles, and of course that refers primarily to its fish stocks. The UN Law of the Sea has given the nations on this planet at least a basis for figuring out how to manage coastal waters and resolve the many inevitable conflicts that arise when different countries believe they share a resource. And still the Canadian government hasn't ratified it.

The Law of the Sea was a long time coming, and Canada was active in the negotiations throughout the decades. Negotiations began in the 1950's when it became clear for the first time that coastal resources needed protection. Aggressive action by countries such as Iceland, Chile, Peru and eventually Canada helped to push the process along, and in 1982, 159 nations, including Canada, signed the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea.

Signing the Convention did not mean a great deal beyond good intentions, however. The governments of 60 nations would still have to ratify it before it became international law, and developed nations were slow to do so until some sticky questions concerning deep-sea mining rights were resolved. Nonetheless, in 1993 the 60th nation ratified the Convention, and it became international law a year later. More than 70 nations have ratified it since then. As the years pass, our refusal, disinterest or inability to ratify the Convention becomes more and more embarrassing.

We certainly act as if we accept the Law of the Sea, as we protect our 200 mile limit with the enthusiasm of born again conservationists. We use the Law of the Sea to manage the fish stocks on both our coasts. We lobby for inclusion of the continental shelf waters extending beyond the 200 mile limit, in order to protect the fishing stocks on the Flemish Cap and on the Nose and Heel of the Grand Banks.

Another aspect is about to become increasingly important. As the Arctic ice cap around the Canadian Arctic archipelago continues to shrink and thin, sovereignty over the potential new and emerging Northwest Passage will be decided by international courts. Should the narrow passages between the northern islands become international straits, as the US no doubt expects, or should they be considered part of Canadian waters? If they become international, then who has the responsibility of managing and protecting such a vulnerable region from abuse and contamination? A law that Canada has not ratified will be used to make the decisions.

The UN Law of the Sea is accepted as international law. Even the Chinese ratified it, not because they necessarily considered it to be appropriate law, but because they recognized that it will continue to evolve as details are added and inconsistencies are resolved. Canada will not be taken seriously in the global arena as long as we lack the will to show global responsibility, and that is a pity. A nation which truly has a voice in the affairs of the planet must use that voice, and show some leadership. Why haven't we?