UN General Assembly
1982

recognizes that right and will support any initiatives that are aimed at convening a conference on Palestine as a means to finding a lasting settlement to the Middle East situation. After many years of protracted negotiations, my Government was happy to welcome the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in April this year. We, however, remain disappointed that certain countries sought to alter some fundamental provisions of the Convention. I feel obliged to remind those countries that the provisions in question are there for the benefit of mankind. My Government is especially concerned that the United States has decided not to become a party to the Convention when it is opened for signature. Papua New Guinea's concern stems from the fact that key provisions within the Convention relating to sea bed mining may not be effectively implemented, white some industrial countries possessing sea bed mining technology fail to support the Convention. Papua New Guinea trusts and urges other industrial States to support the Convention as the principal treaty governing the exploitation of