These accessions represent the first increase in the number of Parties in many years, bringing the total to 51 and marking a significant milestone for the ISA and its Member States.
The addition of new Parties strengthens the legal and operational security of the ISA, enhances its international standing, and broadens the geographic scope within which its mandate can be carried out. It also reflects growing momentum in deep-seabed governance and a renewed spirit of multilateral cooperation among its Member States in support of the ISA’s mandate to manage the resources of the international seabed Area for the benefit of all humankind.
Additionally, on 20 September 2025, Kyrgyzstan deposited its instrument of accession to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), becoming the 170th Member State of the ISA. As a landlocked country, Kyrgyzstan’s accession reaffirms the universal relevance of the law of the sea and underscores the inclusive nature of the ISA’s mandate. With 171 Members, the ISA now enjoys near-universal participation in its constitutive instrument, which is an exceptional level of commitment to the principles of UNCLOS and to multilateralism in the governance of the global ocean.