Highlights and images for 21 July 2025

On Monday, 21 July, the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) commenced its 30th session (ISA-30) by observing a minute of silence dedicated to prayer and meditation for a good outcome from the proceedings. 

The Assembly is one of the ISA’s principal organs and is empowered, among other things, to establish the general policies for the Authority. It comprises all ISA members.

Allieu Koroma, Sierra Leone, on behalf of Amara Sowa, Sierra Leone, ISA-29 Assembly President, opened the session.

Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Special Envoy of the French Republic for the UN Ocean Conference, invited ISA members to take “the time to draft a mining code that is much more rigorous and robust than the one some would like to adopt in a hurry.”

In her opening remarks, Leticia Carvalho, ISA Secretary-General, drew attention to the scope and ambition of the Assembly's indicative plan of work, underscoring that “it is time to take stock and to look ahead.”

She highlighted the ISA-30 Assembly as an opportunity to reaffirm the shared duty of stewardship of the Area (the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction) for the benefit of humankind. She further emphasized that only through dialogue and participation can the ISA safeguard the deep sea for current and future generations.

Following debate on the Assembly’s provisional agenda, specifically in relation to the item on the need for a general policy of the Authority for the protection and preservation of the marine environment, the Assembly adopted the agenda and elected by acclamation, Dwight Gardiner of Antigua and Barbuda, as ISA-30 Assembly President.

The Assembly then approved 12 out of the 13 requests for observer status submitted to it. Regarding the Seafloor Mineral Developers Association’s request, Chile, Costa Rica, and Panama expressed concern, noting the association comprises deep-sea contractors and that there is a lack of clarity regarding its purpose.

Nauru, Tonga, and China supported the association’s request for observer status, highlighting the potential contributions of its member contractors. They also pointed out the lack of a formal participation avenue for contractors.

President Gardiner invited interested member states to hold consultations on the association’s request. Singapore, Samoa, and Jamaica expressed willingness to join the consultations.

In the morning, following the unplanned adjournment of the ISA-30 Council on Friday, 18 July, the Council resumed its meeting to conclude outstanding items on its agenda. ISA-30 Council President Duncan Muhumuza Laki, Uganda, presented the proposed dates for the ISA-31 Council session as follows: Part I on 16–27 March 2026; Part II on 13–24 July 2026; and Part III on 28 October - 6 November 2026. 

Brazil, supported by several delegates, expressed concern that the proposed dates for part I of ISA-31 conflict with the third session of the Preparatory Commission for the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), scheduled for 23 March to 2 April 2026.

Council members ultimately agreed to the suggestion that the proposed dates remain indicative, allowing the Secretariat to consult with the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs and the BBNJ interim secretariat, with the possibility of invoking rule 4 of the ISA Council Rules of Procedure (Alteration of the date of a regular session).

Thanking all ISA members, staff, and everyone who had participated in the session and contributed to the progress made, President Laki gaveled the meeting to a close at 11:35 a.m. on Monday, 21 July.