UN General Assembly
1970

27. It is well known that the sea-bed beyond national jurisdiction is also a fountain-head of resources whose utilization is of interest to mankind in general. 28. The international machinery to be created on the basis of a declaration of principles which is the primary task of the Sea-bed Committee if it is effectively to satisfy the general interest of mankind and not limit itself to a mere system of concessions to feed public or private enterprises of the highly industrialized countries must rest upon the basic concept that the sea-bed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction constitutes the common heritage of mankind.