governmental organizations concerned, as well as 

 by universities, scientific and technological insti- 

 tutes and other interested organizations." 



In the light of these surveys, the Secretary- 

 General was requested: 



to formulate proposals for: (a) Ensuring the most 

 effective arrangements for an expanded pro- 

 gramme of international cooperation to assist in a 

 better understanding of the marine environment 

 through science and in the exploitation and 

 development of marine resources, with due regard 

 to the conservation of fish stocks; (bj Initiating 

 and strengthening marine education and training 

 programmes, bearing in mind the close interrela- 

 tionship between marine and other sciences. 



The Secretary-General has now completed these 

 surveys.'^ In his Introduction and Summary, the 

 Secretary-General made the following significant 

 observations: 



. . .in view of the large expenditure and inherent 

 risks [ of operations in the ocean environment] , it 

 must be expected that would-be entrepreneurs will 

 seek maximum safeguards for their investment, in 

 the first instance by obtaining such exclusive rights 

 as may be necessary to offer the prospect of a fair 

 return. At the same time, the legitimate interests 

 of the world community as a whole must not be 

 jeopardized by any undesirable activities. 

 All this presupposes the existence of some kind of 

 administrative machinery with adequate authority 

 to allocate exploration, exploitation and other 

 rights over particular areas for specific lengths of 

 time and possibly for specific minerals, to deter- 

 mine the scale of fees and royalties and the proper 

 use of their proceeds, to ensure systematic and 

 orderly operations by the entrepreneur and afford 

 such protection as he may reasonably expect The 

 establishment of such administrative machinery 



Report of the U.N. Secretary-General on the Re- 

 sources of the Sea, U.N. Economic and Social Council, 

 44th Session, Agenda Item 3(c), and 45th Session, 

 Agenda'item 12, Introduction and Summary, E/4449, 21 

 Feb. 1968; Part One; Mineral Resources of the Sea 

 Beyond the Continental Shelf, E/4449/ Add. 1, 19 Feb. 

 1968; Part Two: Food Resources of the Sea Beyond the 

 Continental Shelf Excluding Fish, E/4449/ Add. 2, Feb. 

 7, 1968; and Marine Science and Technology: Survey and 

 Proposals, E/4487, April 24, 1968. 



and its recognition by the international commu- 

 nity appears to be a matter of some urgency. 

 Equally necessary, in the near future, is a decision 

 at the international level on the outer limit of the 

 continental shelf which as presently defined is so 

 imprecise as to leave virtually open the important 

 question of where the exclusive rights of riparian 

 countries cease to apply. ^'^ 



The Secretary-General recommended that the 

 United Nations should be given: 



adequate responsibility for systematic collection 

 and diffusion of information regarding economic 

 marine mineral deposits, techniques appropriate 

 for their development, as well as for resolving 

 related juridical, general administrative and polit- 

 ical issues. "' ^ 



At its 45th Session, August 2, 1968, the UN 

 Economic and Social Council endorsed the reports 

 of the Secretary-General and passed a resolution 

 requesting the Secretary-General: 



to follow closely new developments which may 

 occur in fields of marine mineral resources explo- 

 ration, evaluation and exploitation beyond the 

 continental shelf and the possible implications 

 thereof, and to report when appropriate to the 

 Economic and Social Council. ^ * 



2. The Malta Resolution 



At its 22nd 1967 session, the United Nations 

 General Assembly considered the legal status of 

 the mineral resources of the sea-bed and subsoil 

 beyond the outer limits of the continental shelf. 

 The debate was provoked by Malta which, on 

 Aug. 18, 1967, proposed the following item for 

 the agenda: 



Examination of the Question of the Reservation 

 Exclusively for Peaceful Purposes of the Seabed 

 and the Ocean Floor, and Subsoil Thereof Under- 

 lying the High Seas Beyond the Limits of Present 



95 



Id., Introduction and Summary, at 4-5. 



Id., Marine Science and Technology: Survey and 



Proposals at 82. 

 '*UN ECOSOC Resolution II, E/4584, Aug. 2, 1968. 



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