New York, USA (15 – 19 June 2026) – The 36th Meeting of States Parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (SPLOS) was held in New York in mid-June and I was honoured to attend the event and provide remarks in my second year as Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority. I previously posted on this part of the mission which you can read more about here.
Category: Reflection
Reflections from ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho on her official visit to the People´s Republic of China
Xiamen and Sanya, China (25-28 May 2026) – After a very productive mission to Fiji in May, I continued my journey flying to the People´s Republic of China. In Xiamen, a port city on the Southeast coast, I had the honour to address the 8th International Symposium on Scientific and Legal Aspects of the Regimes of the Continental Shelf and the Area, organized by the China Institute for Marine Affairs (CIMA) and the Second Institute of Oceanography (SIO), Ministry of Natural Resources of China.
Madam Secretary-General Reflects on Her Mission to Fiji and the Opening of the Pacific SIDS Regional Workshop
Suva, Fiji – (18 – 21 May 2026) – My engagement in Suva, Fiji, as my first official visit to the Pacific as Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), was long overdue and of great strategic importance. The Pacific Small Island Developing States (Pacific SIDS) are central to ISA’s work. Their ocean heritage and their voice in the negotiations that will shape the rules that will govern the deep seabed for generations made this mission one of the most significant of my tenure. I came to listen and learn, and I left Suva with a clearer sense of both what the Authority can offer and what it can do better for Pacific SIDS.
Madam Secretary-General reflects on her recent mission to Brazil in May 2026
Brasília and Rio de Janeiro (4 – 8 May 2026) – “It was with a feeling of returning home and reconnecting with my roots that I travelled in early May to Brazil´s capital, Brasília, for a week filled with high-level meetings and faces new and familiar.
Madam Secretary-General’s Reflections at the IX Ministerial Meeting of the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZOPACAS) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (8-9 April 2026) – At the beginning of April, following a very busy last few weeks hosting Part I of the 31st Council Session, I travelled to Rio de Janeiro to represent the International Seabed Authority (ISA) at the Ninth Ministerial Meeting of the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic, known as ZOPACAS. As a Brazilian, there was something especially meaningful about participating in a gathering dedicated to the future of the South Atlantic and its respective 24 States from across Africa and Latin America. The South Atlantic is of strategic importance geopolitically, serving as a critical shipping alternative to the Red Sea and a major trade artery between the Americas, Europe and Asia. It is also a space in which developing coastal States have a strong stake in the evolution of multilateral ocean governance.
Madam Secretary-General’s Reflections from Her Mission to Belgium, February 2026
Kingston, Jamaica, 31 March, 2026 – Following my trip to the United Kingdom and Switzerland, I traveled to Brussels, Belgium where I had the opportunity to meet a number of stakeholders to increase understanding of the work and role of the ISA and hear from them regarding concerns and opportunities.
Madam Secretary-General’s Reflections from Her Recent Mission to the United Kingdom and Switzerland at the Start of 2026
Kingston, Jamaica – 27 March 2026 – As I enter year two of my tenure as ISA Secretary-General, I feel that 2026 is off to a promising start, combining focused ambition, a spirit of collaboration, and principled pragmatism. These principles are guiding my engagement with Member States and how I am organizing the work of the Secretariat. This aim is part of a broader effort to explain why we consider the framework ready for consolidation to ensure that the ISA can deliver its unique role as guardian and steward of the deep seabed. The focus is on coalescing progress towards completion of the legal framework to make the system operational and coherent, delivering for multilateralism and the promise of the common heritage of humankind. Just having closed Part One of the 31st Session, I firmly believe that we saw these principles playing out in the negotiations and I am very pleased with the progress made. Please read my Council closing remarks here.
Reflections from Madam Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho on Engagements in Cameroon
Yaoundé, Cameroon – 16 February 2026 – At the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Cameroon, I travelled to Yaoundé to open the inaugural in-person workshop of the African Academy for Deep Sea Diplomacy (ADSEA).
The Third Ocean Conference: Reflections from Madam Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho on the International Seabed Authority´s engagements
Last week, I attended the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, together with a small team from the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Office of Stewardship, Environment and Resources and Communications & Global Engagement Unit. From 7 to 13 June, the global ocean community came together to accelerate action and mobilize all actors in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
