The 28th session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) was held from July 10 to 28, in Kingston (Jamaica) in the presence of the representative of the Principality who reiterated Monaco’s concerns about plans to issue deep sea mining licences through the United Nations.
Despite the willingness of some countries to speed up the process, many delegations expressed their concern about the potential approval of a work plan for the exploitation of these resources in the absence of strong regulation with environmental safeguards. The Principality has specified that no work plan can be approved without including a clear regulatory framework taking account of reliable scientific data. Monaco also has declared it will defend this position without taking into account any particular terminology or nuances of expression which could prove to be equivocal.
All States Parties to the 1982 Convention, including Monaco, are ipso facto members of the Authority, making a total of 169 current members (168 States plus the European Union). Monaco was among the first to join the coalition of States (Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Republic Dominican Republic, Micronesia, Finland, France, Germany, Panama, Portugal, New Zealand, Switzerland and Vanuatu) in favour of the protection of the deep seabed.
Greenpeace activists from New Zealand and Mexico confront the deep sea mining vessel Hidden Gem, commissioned by Canadian miner The Metals Company, as it returned to port from eight weeks of test mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone between Mexico and Hawaii, off the coast of Manzanillo, Mexico November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Gustavo Graf
