UN General Assembly
1972

196. We must note that the practical application of those truths is very unequal and, in some cases, non-existent. Although the land-locked countries were ignored in the past, since the Barcelona Agreement and the Geneva Conference of 1958 the international community has turned its attention to the problems confronted by the land-locked countries. We must recognize, however, that the principles thus far approved are deficient. We must, without referring to the specific condition of each landlocked country, recognize the general nature of the right of all countries to benefit from the use of the wealth drawn from the oceans and the rivers; otherwise the universality of the sea would be purely nominal so far as the land-locked countries are concerned and their possibility of utilizing the resources of the sea-bed and the ocean floor would be illusory. 197. Naturally, in the exercise of those rights in one case as well as in another, there must be different characteristics and features, and their legal formulation is the second point that must be considered by the General Assembly and the sea-bed Committee.