The Law of the Sea and Landlocked States

This policy brief examines the rights of landlocked states to access the sea and marine resources under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), emphasizing the necessity of bilateral, sub-regional, or regional agreements to operationalize these rights. It highlights the role of transit states and provides examples of successful transport corridors in Africa.

• Landlocked states possess a general right of access to the sea, but the specific terms and modalities must be established through agreements between all involved states. UNCLOS provides a framework for these agreements, which may include the creation of free zones or customs facilities at ports of entry and exit, and restrictions on customs duties, taxes, or charges for traffic in transit, except for specific services rendered.
• Under UNCLOS, landlocked states are granted several specific maritime rights, including the right for their flagged ships to receive treatment equal to other foreign ships in maritime ports, the right of innocent passage through territorial seas, and freedom of navigation in the high seas and exclusive economic zones (EEZ).
• Landlocked states have the right to participate in the exploitation of surplus living resources in the EEZs of coastal states within the same region or sub-region on an equitable basis. This right is subject to the coastal state's duties regarding conservation and utilization, and agreements must consider factors such as the nutritional needs of populations and the impact on the coastal state's fishing communities.
• The 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS) adopts the term 'landly-connected' instead of 'landlocked' to emphasize that these states remain connected to the sea despite lacking a coastline.
• Successful implementation of transit rights often depends on political will and mutual benefit. For example, a 2002 agreement between Ethiopia and Djibouti created a transport corridor where Ethiopia gained competitive sea access and Djibouti derived 70% of its port income from transit traffic.
• The Walvis Bay Corridor Group, established in 2000 by Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, manages four transport corridors connecting to the port of Walvis Bay in Namibia. This initiative led to the use of the trans-Kalahari corridor increasing from 20% to 60% between 2000 and 2004.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2020). The Law of the Sea and Landlocked States. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-law-of-the-sea-and-landlocked-states/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. The Law of the Sea and Landlocked States. 2020. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-law-of-the-sea-and-landlocked-states/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=The Law of the Sea and Landlocked States |date=20 August 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/the-law-of-the-sea-and-landlocked-states/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2020law, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{The Law of the Sea and Landlocked States}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/the-law-of-the-sea-and-landlocked-states/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }