The Women’s Major Group (WMG) was created at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. Since then, the Group has been recognized by the United Nations (UN) in its deliberations on Sustainable Development, and since 1996 in the United Nations Environment Programme. With over 1300 member organizations and networks from every region of the world, the Group has called for joint efforts for the conservation, sustainability and fair use of ocean resources; a defence of the Commons; and careful attention to social, economic and ecological sustainability in all oceans-related decisions arising from the first ever United Nations Ocean Conference held in New York between 5 and 9 June 2017.