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40 - Aprilo 1983

THE LAW OF THE SEA

What is now ?

On December 10th 1982, at Montego Bay, Jamaica, 117 self-styled Sovereign States signed the Convention on the Law of the Sea, while 23 states signed only the final report of the Conference.

The creation of an international maritime zone for the exploitation of the sea bed by the "Enterprise" acting under an international Authority was, indeed, the chief novelty of this prodigious treaty, offering tempting benefits to the poor nations but regarded by the maritime powers and the large multinationals with a mixture of anxiety and suspicion.

On March 10th 1983 the President of the United States (a non-signatory) declared an economic exclusion zone over the coastal waters of the entire Union up to a limit of 200 miles. That Reagan declaration asserts a resolve to make the exclusion zone effective and, in addition, explicitly reserves the right to exploit unilaterally the resources of the sea bed outside that limit.

On March 15th 1983 the preliminary commission created under the Law of the Sea Convention, began its inaugural session in Kingston, Jamaica. Its brief, one unprecedented in the history of international treaties, is to plan the detailed working, before coming into force, of the Authority which will be charged with assuring that the resources of the international zone shall be managed as a part of the Common Heritage of Mankind.

On May 23rd 1970, president Nixon had already affirmed that the sea must be counted as parto of this common heritage, inviting all States to forego their claims to any sea bottom more than 200 meters below the surface.

Will the present Administration go into its second term having ignored the chance of signing the Jamaica document, now at the U.N. in New-York and open to signature until December 9th 1984 ?

It seems not out of place to recall the World Declaration of September 24th 1973 issued by the Peoples Congress and unfortunately still relevant.

 As delegates of the Peoples Congress, elected directly and democratically by a trans-national electorate from 110 countries

 We state

That the seas of the world

  • Represent a vital, essential element in climates stability and the distribution of water on the planet
  • Contains enormous but not inexhaustible wealth - food ,energy and raw materials

We state

  • That the seas of the world, missing an own legal status are the object of the Nations states frantic desire
  • There is a great risk to see the Nations States cut up seas and oceans for their own profit
  • There is a great risk to see the level of pollution increase until all this wealth is destroyed

We declare that the seas of the world

  • are a common asset belonging to all the inhabitants of the Planet
  • must be sheltered from unrestrained greed

We ask

For the creation of specialised world institutions with limited but real power, able to impose their regulations to Nations States that are vital for the survival of the seas of the world and for its exploitation for the benefit of all the species

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