UN General Assembly
1978

51. The seventh session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, whose debates have just concluded, should make us think about how to bring about a global agreement on not only a desirable but a necessary universal maritime code, which is the ambitious goal of the Conference. The legitimate interests of all countries must be reflected there in balanced solutions which contribute to the new international economic order which we want to create. The necessary consensus can be achieved only if there are formulas which are sufficiently harmonious to make them generally acceptable. 52. Among the matters to which we ascribe most importance is access to the living resources of the exclusive economic zones of other States by customary fishermen. It is necessary to recognize and protect interests worthy of respect in human communities which have made of fishing their traditional livelihood, and the legal and moral justification for that cannot be ignored.