Appendix IV
| Published date | 01 March 1974 |
| Date | 01 March 1974 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/001083677400900121 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
165
Appendix
IV
REQUEST
FOR
THE
INCLUSION
OF
A
SUPPLEMENTARY
ITEM
IN
THE
AGENDA
OF
THE
TWENTY-SECOND
SESSION
Declaration
and
Treaty
Concerning
the
Reservation
Exclusively
for
Peaceful
Pur-
poses
of
the
Sea-Bed
and
of
the
Ocean
Floor,
Underlying
the
Seas
Beyond
the
Limits
of
Present
National
Jurisdiction,
and
the
Use
of
Their
Resources
in
the
Interests
of
Mankind.
Note
verbale
dated
17
August
1967
from
the
Permanent
Mission
of
Malta
to
the
United
Nations
addressed
to
the
Secretary-
General
The
Permanent
Mission
of
Malta
to
the
United
Nations
presents
its
compliments
to
the
Secretary-General
of
the
United
Nations
and
has
the
honour
to
propose
under
rule
14
of
the
rules
of
procedure
of
the
General
Assembly
the
inclusion
of
the
following
item
in
the
agenda
of
the
twenty-second
session
of
the
General
As-
sembly :
’Declaration
and
treaty
concerning
the
reservation
exclusively
for
peaceful
purposes
of
the
sea-bed
and
of
the
ocean
floor,
underlying
the
seas
beyond
the
lim-
its
of
present
national
jurisdiction,
and
the
use
of
their
resources
in
the
interests
of
mankind’.
An
explanatory
memorandum
is
at-
tached
in
accordance
with
rule
20
of
the
rules
of
procedure.
MEMORANDUM
1.
The
sea-bed
and
the
ocean
floor
are
estimated
to
constitute
approximately
five-
sevenths
of
the
world’s
area.
The
sea-bed
and
ocean
floor,
underlying
the
seas
out-
side
present
territorial
waters
and/or
the
continental
shelves,
are
the
only
areas
of
our
planet
which
have
not
yet
been
ap-
propriated
for
national
use,
because
they
have been
relatively
inaccessible
and
their
use
for
defence
purposes
or
the
economic
exploitation
of
their
resources
was
not
technologically
feasible.
2.
In
view
of
rapid
progress
in
the
de-
velopment
of
new
techniques
by
techno-
logically
advanced
countries,
it
is
feared
that
the
situation
will
change
and
that
the
sea-bed
and
the
ocean
floor,
under-
lying
the
seas
beyond
present
national
jurisdiction,
will
become
progressively
and
competitively
subject
to
national
appropri-
ation
and
use.
This
is
likely
to
result
in
the
militarization
of
the
accessible
ocean
floor
through
the
establishment
of
fixed
military
installations
and
in
the
exploita-
tion
and
depletion
of
resources
of
im-
mense
potential
benefit
to
the
world,
for
the
national
advantage
of
technologically
developed
countries.
3.
It
is,
therefore,
considered
that
the
time
has
come
to
declare
the
sea-bed
and
the
ocean
floor
a
common
heritage
of
mankind
and
that
immediate
steps
should
be
taken
to
draft
a
treaty
embodying,
inter
alia,
the
following
principles:
(a)
The
sea-bed
and
the
ocean
floor,
underlying
the
seas
beyond
the
lim-
its
of
present
national
jurisdiction,
are
not
subject
to
national
appropri-
ation
in
any
manner
whatsoever;
(b)
The
exploration
of
the
sea-bed
and
of
the
ocean
floor,
underlying
the
seas
beyond
the
limits
of
present
na-
tional
jurisdiction,
shall
be under-
taken
in
a
manner
consistent
with
the
Principles
and
Purposes
of
the
Charter
of
the
United
Nations;
(c)
The
use
of
the
sea-bed
and
of
the
ocean
floor,
underlying
the
seas
be-
yond
the
limits
of
present
na-
tional
jurisdiction,
and
their
eco-
nomic
exploitation
shall
be under-
taken
with
the
aim
of
safeguarding
the
interests
of
mankind.
The
net
financial
benefits
derived
from
the
use
and
exploitation
of
the
sea-bed
and
of
the
ocean
floor shall
be
used
primarily
to
promote
the
develop-
ment
of
poor
countries;
(d)
The
sea-bed
and
the
ocean
floor,
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