lowing meetings in October, November and December, this 

 group recommended that four draft resolutions, 2467 A-D 

 (XXXIII), based on the report of the Ad Hoc Committee and 

 other relevant material be adopted by the General Assembly. 

 They were subsequently adopted in late December 1968. 



The first resolution established a permanent Committee on 

 the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor Beyond 

 the Limits of National Jurisdiction composed of forty-two States. 

 The Committee's functions are: 



— to study the elaboration of the legal principles and norms 

 which would promote international cooperation in the 

 exploration and use of the sea-bed for the benefit of man- 

 kind and in the interests of humanity as a whole 



— to study ways and means of promoting exploitation taking 

 into account the foreseeable development of technology 

 and the economic implications. 



— to review the studies carried out in the field of explora- 

 tion and research and stimulate exchange and dissemina- 

 tion of knowledge. 



— to examine proposed measures of cooperation to prevent 

 marine pollution. 



— to study the reservation of the sea-bed exclusively for 

 peaceful purposes. 



— to work in close cooperation with other groups to avoid 

 duplication. 



— to make recommendations to the General Assembly. 

 — to submit reports at each session of the General Assem- 

 bly. 



Although no country voted against this resolution creating 

 a permanent committee, seven countries abstained — Byelorus- 

 sian SSR, Cambodia, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Hungary, Ukrain- 

 ian SSR, and the USSR. The representative of the Soviet Union 

 explained that the draft did not explicity include the continen- 

 tal shelf within the limits of the area to be used exclusively for 

 peaceful purposes, and that the USSR was resolutely in favor 

 of prohibiting military use of the sea-bed and ocean floor in- 

 cluding the entire continental shelf. He was also concerned 

 that the composition of the committee reflected inadequate 

 representation of the socialist countries. Arguing that issues 

 of war and peace would be discussed, he felt that the member- 

 ship should be based on political, not arithmetical, grounds, 

 and that at least one additional seat should be granted to a 

 socialist nation. He did state that the committee's work could 



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