The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), with its headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica.
Comprised of 168 members, including 167 member States and the European Union, ISA is the organization through which States Parties to UNCLOS organize and control all mineral-resources-related activities in the international seabed area ("the Area") for the benefit of mankind. The Area covers over half the total area of the world's oceans. In so doing, ISA has the mandate to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment from harmful effects that may arise from deep-seabed related activities.
ISA came into existence on 16 November 1994, upon the entry into force of UNCLOS. ISA became fully operational as an autonomous international organization in June 1996, when it took over the premises and facilities in Kingston, previously used by the United Nations Kingston Office for the Law of the Sea.
