UN General Assembly
1973

162. Another problem which is worthy of our attention is that of the sea-bed. In its resolution 3029 (XVII), the Assembly entrusted the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction with the task of preparing a draft convention to be submitted to a plenipotentiary conference in Santiago next April. Unfortunately, the draft convention is not yet ready. In the course of the many meetings which have been held, Member States have not shown a sufficient degree of co-operation. The Assembly proclaimed, amidst general enthusiasm, that the resources of the sea-bed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction constituted the common heritage of mankind as a whole [see resolution 2749 (XXV)]. An international organization was to be set up to exploit these resources for the benefit of all nations. These fine promises seem to have been forgotten very quickly. The conflict of national interests has overshadowed respect for the interests of the international community, and almost diverted the Committee from its initial task, which was to work for the development of international law of the sea and not to try to stifle it.