SCR157 urges Hawaii to adopt the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), a treaty establishing international rules for ocean governance.
The Hawaii Senate passed SCR157 on April 3, 2025, by a vote of 23 to 2. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this resolution undermines state and national sovereignty by endorsing an international treaty that infringes on constitutional authority. Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution does not grant the federal government authority to delegate ocean governance to international bodies such as the UN. By promoting UNCLOS, SCR157 would subject Hawaii and the United States to international regulations that override state and national autonomy. Furthermore, the resolution’s alignment with UN governance threatens self-governance by prioritizing globalist agendas over state and national sovereignty.
