Antigua and Barbuda is playing a pivotal role in ongoing United Nations meetings aimed at bringing the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty — commonly known as the High Seas Treaty — into full effect. According to Antigua News Room, the country is represented by a three-member expert delegation at the third session of the Preparatory Commission (Prep Com III), which runs from March 23 to April 2, 2026.

Countries have already agreed to the treaty, and Prep Com III is now focused on working out the operational details required to put the agreement into action. Once fully in force, the treaty will ensure that vast stretches of ocean beyond any single nation's jurisdiction are protected in ways that support the survival and livelihoods of small island developing states (SIDS) like Antigua and Barbuda.

Leading the delegation is Asha Challenger, First Secretary at the Antigua and Barbuda Permanent Mission to the United Nations and a Vice President of the Preparatory Commission. The session brings together signatory parties, civil society, academia, UN partner agencies, and other stakeholders to establish the rules, procedures, and support systems that will guide the treaty's decision-making — with particular attention to the needs of SIDS.

Challenger is also coordinating Antigua and Barbuda's positions in collaboration with CARICOM and the Alliance of Small Island States across several critical areas, including financial arrangements, the design of the institutional framework, and the development of relationships with other relevant international bodies and treaties.

Joining her at the UN meeting are Darius Joseph, Legal Officer at the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Marine Services and Marine Shipping (ADOMS), and Zachary Phillips, Crown Counsel II at the Office of the Attorney General. The presence of all three experts underscores Antigua and Barbuda's commitment to protecting the oceans on which many of its citizens depend, and to ensuring that small island nations have a meaningful voice in decisions that shape their futures.

Prep Com III is the final preparatory session before signatory nations convene for the first Conference of the Parties on the BBNJ Treaty, expected to take place in January next year at UN Headquarters in New York. At that conference, the agreement will become fully operational, and states parties will begin work toward fulfilling their treaty obligations on the sustainable use and conservation of the ocean.