The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is often referred to as the ‘Constitution for the Oceans’. It addresses multiple issues of boundaries and delimitation, settlement of disputes, marine scientific research, commercial, economic and technological activities in the oceans and enables States to better utilise marine resources in a sustainable manner.The Indian Ocean has enormous potential for living and non-living resources and sustainable utilisation of these resources can be achieved by strict adherence to international legal instruments. The IORA can play a significant role in this endeavour by promoting cooperative agendas in the region in accordance with the legal framework provided by the 1982 UNCLOS.
1982 UNCLOS: Perspectives from the Indian Ocean
Editors
Ms. Nutan Kapoor Mahawar, a career diplomat, joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1996. During her over 24 years career, she has worked on various assignments both in New Delhi and abroad. At Headquarters, Ms. Mahawar has served in the Parliament& Coordination, Europe West, Disarmament and International Security Affairs (D&ISA) Divisions of the Ministry of External Affairs of India. She has held positions in Indian Missions in Geneva and Moscow. Since January 2019, Ms.Mahawar is Joint Secretary in the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi. Ms. Mahawar is a post-graduate in Economics. She is proficient in Hindi, English and Russian languages.
Dr Vijay Sakhuja is former Director, National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, India. He is associated with a number of think tanks and universities in India and overseas and has published several books and monographs. A former Indian Navy officer, Sakhuja specializes in Indo-Pacific affairs, naval developments, maritime security, climate change, Arctic issues, Blue Economy and 4th Industrial Revolution technologies. Dr Vijay Sakhuja is a member of the international editorial board of Journal of Indian Ocean Region (Taylor & Francis), Journal of Indian Ocean Rim Studies (JIORS) and Journal of Greater Mekong Studies.
Dr Pragya Pandey is a Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi. She specializes in issues related to maritime security, Indian Ocean, Indo-Pacific and regional geopolitics. Previously, she was Assistant Professor in Department of Political Science, Miranda House, University of Delhi. Dr Pandey has completed her PhD from the Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has presented papers at various national, international conferences and dialogues and has considerable publications to her credit.
