ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC -Prime Minister Gaston Browne has described as a “major achievement” the election of Ambassador Dwight Gardiner to the post of President of the Assembly for the 30th Session of the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority (ISA).
“Major achievement for Small Island States fighting for ocean protection and marine resources critical to the survival of this and future generations,” Browne said in a post on his Facebook page.
The Antigua and Barbuda diplomat is the third Caribbean national to be elected to the post, following Jamaica’s Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister, Kamina Johnson Smith, in 2019 and Trinidad and Tobago’s Ambassador Dennis Francis in 2004.
The ISA Assembly, which concludes on Friday, comprises representatives from 170 member countries and is responsible for overseeing the organization’s work in managing seabed resources beyond national jurisdiction.
The 30th Session is taking place during a period of significant activity for the ISA, as the organization continues work on developing regulations for potential commercial deep-sea mining operations.
The Session includes consideration of various agenda items, including the annual report of the Secretary-General and discussions on marine environment protection policies.
Gardiner is also the country’s Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Director and Registrar General of the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Marine Services and Merchant Shipping (ADOMS).
The ISA is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1994 Agreement).
It is the organization through which States Parties to UNCLOS organize and control all mineral sources-related activities in the Area for the benefit of humankind as a whole. In doing so, ISA has the mandate to ensure the adequate protection of the marine environment from the harmful effects that may arise from deep-seabed-related activities.
The ISA came into existence on November 16, 1994, upon the entry into force of UNCLOS. It became fully operational as an autonomous international organization in June 1996, when it assumed the premises and facilities in Kingston previously used by the United Nations Kingston Office for the Law of the Sea.
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