Energy Shots: Running on Empty
May 29, 2026 • 9:30 – 10:00 am EDT
Ocean Security and Human Rights Forum
June 9, 2026 • 9:30 am – 12:00 pm EDT
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The Stephenson Ocean Security Project highlights the ways that global security challenges arise from marine resource competition and works towards solutions that support sustainable development, coalition building, and the need for American leadership. This year’s forum will discuss the escalating pressure facing global maritime governance from a variety of crisis points and how this pressure is affecting shared governance of the maritime commonwealth and our ability to grapple with common challenges including marine resource management, illegal fishing, supply chain transparency, and human rights at sea. This year’s forum is co-hosted in partnership with the CSIS Human Rights Initiative.
Please register to join us in-person or online on June 9th at 9:30 am ET. Find more information on the panels and the speakers in the agenda below.
This event is made possible through generous support from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Agenda
Check-in and Coffee
9:00 am
Welcome
9:30 am
Enoh T. Ebong – President, Global Development Department - Center for Strategic and International Studies
Panel Discussion: From Fish to Ships – Continuing to Address Shared Maritime Governance Challenges in a Time of Change
9:45 am
Global ocean governance requires shared commitments to meet shared challenges among nations. Today, these commitments are under increasing strain, but the needs are greater than ever. From illegal fishing and resource competition to sanctions avoidance and the emergence of alternative trade economies, new challenges are threatening our ocean security and continued progress towards sustainable development. This panel will consider how we can continue to develop and implement effective governance strategies in a time of changing global dynamics.
Moderated by Dr. Whitley Saumweber, Director, Stephenson Ocean Security Project - Center for Strategic and International Studies
Panelists:
Dr. Ruth L. Perry – Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs - U.S. Department of State
Erik Giercksky – Head, Ocean Stewardship Coalition - UN Global Compact
Break
10:45 am
Panel Discussion: Collaboration, Coordination, and Contestation
11:00 am
The seafood industry is rife with human and labor rights violations, in particular forced labor. Discovering and combatting this scourge requires an array of actors, including civil society and media which are uniquely able to bring violations to light and speak to impacted populations, to governments that have investigatory and police powers. Coordination of these stakeholders is vital for protecting human rights. This panel will discuss the modern and historical context for such coordination, with an eye towards how to improve it moving forward in the midst of increased attacks on civil society and decreasing resources.
Moderated by Andrew Friedman, Director and Senior Fellow, Human Rights Initiative - Center for Strategic and International Studies
Panelists:
Ambassador John Cotton Richmond – Senior Adviser (Non-Resident), Human Rights Initiative - Center for Strategic and International Studies
Kelly M. Fay Rodríguez – Former U.S. Special Representative, Bureau of International Labor Affairs - U.S. Department of Labor
CONTACT INFORMATION
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Director, Stephenson Ocean Security Project, and Senior Associate (Non-resident), Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
Dr. Ruth L. Perry
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs – U.S. Department of State
Erik Giercksky
Head, Ocean Stewardship Coalition – UN Global Compact
Ambassador John Cotton Richmond
Senior Adviser (Non-Resident), Human Rights Initiative – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Kelly M. Fay Rodríguez
Former U.S. Special Representative, Bureau of International Labor Affairs – U.S. Department of Labor