52 



become progressively and competitively subject to national appropria- 

 tion. National appropriation would, in turn, result in the militariza- 

 tion of the accessible ocean floor through the establishment of fixed 

 military installations and in the exploitation and depletion of re- 

 sources of immense potential benefit to the world, for the national ad- 

 vantage of the technologically developed countries. 



It was, therefore, considered timely — the memorandum continued — 

 to declare the seabed and the ocean floor a "common heritage of man- 

 kind." Accordingly, immediate steps should be taken to draft a treaty 

 embodying the following principles : 



(a) The sea-bed and the ocean floor, underlying the seas be- 

 yond the limits of present national jurisdiction, are not subject 

 to national appropriation in any manner whatsoever ; 



(5) The exploration of the sea-bed and of the ocean floor, under- 

 lying the seas beyond the limits of present national jurisdiction, 

 shall be undertaken 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, * * * and their 

 economic exploitation shall be undertaken with the aim of safe- 

 guarding the interests of mankind. The net financial benefits de- 

 rived from the use and exploitation of the sea-bed and of the 

 ocean floor shall be used primarily to promote the development of 

 poor countries ; 



(d) The sea-bed and the ocean floor, * * * shall be reserved ex- 

 clusively for peaceful purposes in perpetuity. 



The proposed treaty was envisaged to include the creation of an in- 

 ternational agency which would assume jurisdiction over the seabed; 

 regulate, supervise and control all activities thereon; and enforce the 

 principles and provisions of the treaty. 



Item 92 of the agenda of the twenty-second session of the General 

 Assembly was entitled "Examination of the question of the reserva- 

 tion exclusively for peaceful purposes of the sea-bed and the ocean 

 floor, and the subsoil thereof, underlying the high seas beyond the 

 limits of present national jurisdiction, and the use of their resources 

 in the interests of mankind." 



On October 31, 1967, the Secretary General delivered a note (Docu- 

 ment A/C.1/952) in connection with this agenda item. He pointed 

 out that the consideration of this item might be facilitated and even 

 sharpened by distinguisliing between (a) the question of peaceful use, 

 (b) the scientific activities, and (c) those of resources exploitation. He 

 referred to the studies called for iDy resolutions 1112 (XL) and 2172 

 (XXI) and the progress that had been made in that direction. The 

 Secretary General explained that he had set up a small group of ex- 

 perts to assist him in carrying out the provisions of the resolutions. 

 The group was composed of representatives of the specialized agencies 

 concerned, and of private experts ; it held its first meeting in June 1967 

 at Geneva. The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) 

 of UNESCO adopted on October 27, 1967, a resolution establishing an 

 IOC working group on the legal questions related to scientific investi- 

 gations of the ocean. 



In connection with these studies, the Secretary General's preliminary 

 work on the tasks outlined in the resolutions led him to the conclusion 



