SYDNEY/KINGSTON, 2 AUGUST 2024 – Today the International Seabed Authority’s Assembly voted in secret ballot for the new Secretary General. In reaction to Leticia Carvalho winning the election for Secretary General at the International Seabed Authority, Greenpeace Head of Pacific Shiva Gounden said: 

“The ISA should be an independent institution that represents humankind, and in which every member of humankind can have full confidence in its structure, capacity and processes. The ISA and the Pacific need a Secretary General who has integrity, follows the latest scientific evidence, and who is impartial and independent at the helm, not someone with a vested interest in destroying our Oceans. The world is watching what has happened here this week as the future of our Moana, our marine life and our cultural heritage tied to the Oceans hangs in the balance. For too long, the ISA has been driven by the narrow corporate interests of the deep sea mining industry. We call on the new Secretary General to work with governments and the people of the Pacific to put the health of our oceans at the heart of the ISA.”

— ENDS —

Greenpeace has several voices and ally voices on the ground in Kingston, Jamaica, available for interview, including:

• Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific
• Louisa Casson, Greenpeace International Stop Deep Sea Mining campaigner
• Pelenatita (Tita) Kara Longopoa, Program Director, Civil Society Forum of Tonga
• Alanna Matamaru Smith, Director of Te Ipukarea Society
• The Honourable Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s Minister for Climate Change, Adaptation, Energy, Environment, Meteorology, Geohazards and Disaster Management

Images and footage can be found here

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Kimberley Bernard on +407 581 404 or kbernard@greenpeace.org

The tide has turned: new Secretary General voted in at ISA