In particular, the Committee pointed out that 

 its terms of reference "did not provide for the 

 elaboration by (it) of a scheme for the legal 

 regulation of the status of the seabed and ocean 

 floor and of the activities of States with regard to 

 the seabed and ocean floor." It also stated that "it 

 was emphasized" in committee "that the question 

 of the elaboration of a set of principles needed 

 further consideration and study and that at the 

 present time this would be premature." However, 

 the Committee also expressed its belief that "the 

 progress so far achieved would be most useful in 

 facilitating the attainment of final agreement on 

 more positive action by the General Assembly at 

 its twenty-third session." 



E. Conclusion 



The current concern of the United Nations 

 General Assembly with the problems of exploring 

 and exploiting the mineral resources underlying 

 the high seas makes if imperative that the United 

 States shaU have a carefully formulated position to 

 present to the United Nations. Obviously, the 

 process of arriving at a new framework for the 

 conduct of such exploration and exploitation will 

 take years to complete. If nothing else is done in 

 the interim, the difficulties and dangers of living 

 with the uncertainties of the status quo will be 

 accentuated. 



It is important, therefore, to attempt to secure 

 international agreement, at the earliest possible 

 time, on the principles by which the nations of the 

 world will be guided in conducting such explora- 

 tion and exploitation in the period immediately 

 ahead and on the means by which these principles 

 may be implemented. 



The panel approves the steps— which we shall 

 shortly review— that the United States has already 

 taken in this direction. It is also vital that these 

 principles be consistent with an international 

 legal-political framework that will help to attain 

 United States objectives with regard to mineral 

 resource exploration and exploitation in the 

 oceans. To assure consistency, the United States 

 must have a clear idea of what that framework 

 shall be. Accordingly, the International Panel also 

 recommends that the United States should take 

 the initiative in elaborating such a framework and 

 proposing it to the international community. If it 

 does not, it will be forced to react to the initiatives 



of other nations, as was the case during the 1967 

 session of the United Nations General Assembly. 

 The International Panel would like to empha- 

 size that the United States should institute the 

 process of creating a new framework without 

 assuming that it must suffice for all time. What is 

 needed for the immediate future is a framework 

 that will encourage mineral resource exploration 

 and exploitation and yet be sufficiently flexible to 

 adapt itself to advances in technology and succes- 

 sive stages of experience with such exploration and 

 exploitation. 



IV. A RECOMMENDED DECLARATION OF 

 PRINCIPLES BY THE UNITED NATIONS 

 GENERAL ASSEMBLY 



The position of the United States with respect 

 to such a declaration of principles has undergone a 

 significant and desirable change during the course 

 of the deUberations of the United Nations General 

 Assembly and its Ad Hoc Committee. 



In his speech on the resolution creating the Ad 

 Hoc Conmiittee, Ambassador Goldberg stated the 

 fundamentals of the United States position as 

 follows: 



First, we believe that the prospects of rich harvest 



and mineral wealth both in the deep oceans and on 



the deep ocean floors must not be allowed to 



create a new form of competition among marine 



nations. 



Second, my nation believes that the nations of the 



world should take steps to assure that there will be 



no race among nations to grab and hold the lands 



under the high seas. The deep ocean floor should 



not be allowed to become a stage for competing 



claims of national sovereignty. 



Third, we must insure that the oceans and the 



deep ocean-bottoms remain, as they are, the legacy 



of all human beings and that the deep ocean floor 



will be open to exploration and use by all states, 



without discrimination. 



Fourth, my nation stands ready to join with all 



other nations to achieve these objectives in peace 



and under law.^°^ 



In his Second Annual Report on Marine Re- 

 source and Engineering Development, President 



'"^Press Release, U.S./U.N.-250, Dec. 18, 1967, Dept. 

 of State BuU., Jan. 22, 1968, at 125. 



VIII-29 



