SECOND SESSION SECOND COMMITTEE PROVISIONAL SUMMARY RECORD OF THE FORTY-SIXTH MEETING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82S00697R000300040044-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 19, 2002
• Sequence Number: 44
• Publication Date: August 28, 1974
• Content Type: SUMMARY

aua.: u..11-? ?.X :# S~'~'602('. Oi 40044-5
PROVISIONAL
For palticirant:s only
THIRD CONFERENCE
ON THE LAW OF THE SEA
A/CONF. 62/C.2/SR.16
28 August 1974
ORIGINAL: E.IUGLISII
Second Session
SECOND COMMITTEE
PROVISIONAL SU1,111JPSY RECORD OF THE FORTY-SIXTH MEETING
Held at.the Paraue Central, Caracas,'
on Wednesday, 28 August 1974, at 4 .50 p.m.. .
Chairman: Mr. AGUILAR Venezuela
Rapporteur: Mr. NANDAN Fiji
CONTENTS
Documentation
Statement on the work c!f the Committee
Corrections to this record should be submitted in one of the four working
languages (English,.French, Russian or Spanish), preferably in the onme language as
the text to which they refer. Corrections should be sent in ua.d.ru7~l.ica~.e withi.ri
fifteen workinnr days to the Chief of the Official Records Editing Section,
Department of Conference Services, room LX-2332, United Nations, !New York, N.Y. 10017,
USA, and also incorporated in one copy of the record.
AS THIS RECORD WAS DISTRIBUTED ON THE TIME-LIMIT FOR
CORRECTIONS WILL BE 20 IT. 1974
The co-operation of participants in strictly observing this time-limit would be
greatly appreciated.
74-30254
C-5493 /.
o s
Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R000300040044-5
 A/CONF.62/ C.2/sR,L 6
English Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R000300040044-5
Page 2
The CITAT1ii11':N said that the final versions of informal working papers
Nos. 1-13 were not yet available in all working languages, it was hoped, however,
that they would be circulated to all delegations by 29 August at the latest.
He understood that it was the consensus of the Committee that the informal
working papers should be incorporated into a single document with an index, a general
introduction and explanatory notes,
It was so decided.
The CHA..C.tiMAN said that it would not be possible to issue the consolidated
document at the Conference, but it would, be available through the normal channels in
New York in September and would be sent to the delegations which were not Members
of the United Nations,
ST.ATEP,MNT OH THE WORK OF THE, COMP ITTEE (A/CONF 62/C,. 2/L~, 85 )
M, NAPTSAN (Ilv ppo:cteur) said that the statement on the Committee's work
(A/CONF?62/C,2J.L,85) reflected the decision by the Conference to prepare a concise,
factual and non-controversial statement of the work of each of the main Committees,
It did not attempt to deal with the substance of the issues before Committee or.
record the views expressed on they.
In order to reflect the decision taken by the Committee at the beginning of the
meeting, the following paragraph would be included at the end of section IV:
"The Committee at its Ir6th meeting on 28 August 19744 decided to
consolidate the 13 informal working papers into a single working document,
which will form a basis for its future work. This document is contained
in annex 1".
The other two annexes referred to in section VII-of document A/CONF,62/C.2/L.85
would be inserted after the close of the session, The list of documents would refer
to the sponsor, title and symbol of each document submitted. The index to the
summary records would refer for each meeting to the appropriate summary records,
agenda item and list of speakers participating in the discussion.
Details such as the number of meetings would be inserted at the end of the
session.
Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R000300040044-5
 Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82S00697R000300G` '-562/C, 2/ fl 46
English
Page 3
(rr ?a ;;and n; I ejporteur)
Two foot-notes had been omitted from page I of the statement: the first read
"A/CONY.6211SR421'; the second, "A/CONF.62/58.7". The first foot-note on page 9
should refer to SR.6, not SR.7.
In the preparation of the statement, he had not been able to
consult with as
many delegations as he world have wished, but he was grateful to the members of the
Committee who had. given hi;-a'roan y helpful suggest'ons and comments.
i~t~, N t~N. OF~ (s; nzania) said that the decision to prepare the kind of
statement now before the Committee had been taken at a secret meeting of the plenary
Conference at which his delegation had not been ab=le to give Its views, He wish :d
to place on record a. formal reservation to the effect that the statement did not
reflect what had been done a.t Caracas. Delegations had not cone to Caracas to
prepare a report on an agenda, the organization of work or doci.mnentation, a report
which devoted less than a page to the 1.0 weeks of serious work. The Committee and
the Conference should give the world a detailed account of what had been achieved,
showing that progress had been made towards agreement, The statement gave the
impression that th.e Conference had been a failure, which was not the rases
Mr. ZEGERS (Chile) and Mr T1RID.INNICK (Bolivia) endorsed the continents
made by the representative of Tanzania and entered formal reservations about the
statement, J
Mr. KP?OK , (t~ederal Republic of Germany) said that his delegation did not
share the PeSsiri;istic view which had. been expressed about the statement. He quoted
section VI which stated that the Co^mi:Lttee had completed an essential phase of its
work and had made significant progress. The pessimistic delegations should bring
that point tO the attention of the public,
The CL-T 1.TFMAN said. that it would not be in order for the Committee to reopen
a debate on the decision taken in the plenary, with which the fapporteur had complied..
He suggested that the Ccomittee shoi,Z.d t5akc note of the statement on its work.
It was so decided,
Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R000300040044-5
 A' CONE' ? ~pWV F4 Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R000300040044-5
English
Page l
The CIHAIRM"I/ said that there were a number of personal comments he wished
to make about the worm of the Committee.* The Second Committee had been given the
task of considering some of the moot complex and con.tro?%erSial iss eS of the
Conference, a task rendered more difficult by the fact that less progress had been
made in the p.^ennaratory work on the, items involved than on those allocated to the
other main Com-aittees. The apuroaclh adopted to overcome the lag had been useful
because the discussions had provided a better understanding of the interests and
aspirations of the participat:Lng States? The main trends that had emerged in the
form of proposals submitted to the United Nations Seats-Bed Committee and at the
Conference itself had been summarized in 13 informal working papers. Those working
papers, most of which had reached their final version, were the collective work of
the Committee and would be consolidated in a single text. Together with the various
proposals submitted and the summary records, they provided an over Nall. picture of
the work of the Committee at the session, With the limitations and reservations to
be in_dicai,c;:L in the general introduction'. and with the explanatory notes, the
document fa,ith.ful.ly reflected the main positions on questions of substance. The
document should ser-,vve ets a reference and also as a basis and starting--point for the
future work of the CorTmittee, It would be senseless to repeat the process that had
brought the Committee to that stage.
It was unfortunate that time had allowed a second reading only of the paper
relating to item 2, territorial sea, in the examination of items regrouped in
accordance with the degree of affinity between them. There was an . obvious need for
formal and infornma_L conversations and negotiations at all, levels in the interval
before the neat session so as to reduce the number of alternative texts of draft
articles. He had abandoned the idea of undertaking the task himself out of
deference to' some delegations that had felt such a step might be premature and
might com.promi.se the success of future work.
Some of the results of 'the work of the Committee could not be reduced to
figures or reflected adequately in ~?ecord.s, reports or other doe tints. Although no
decision on subste,ntive issues had been taken at the session, and not a single
article of the future Convention had been adopted, the participating States knew
perfectly well which positions enjoyed support and which had not made headway.
Despite the fact that the paper sun-(Ring up the main trends did not indicate the
support they conmanded., it was easy for anyone who had followed the Committee's work
Subsequently issued as document A/CQPTi+'.62/C22/L.Or".
Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82S00697R000300040044-5
 Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R00030004V0044-5 /C o ``..
English
Page 5
Q Le (Bair a.wn
closely to discern the outline of the future Convention, Each State had established
its position in general terms, thereby laying the foundation for negotiation based on
an objective and realistic evaluation of the relative strength of the different
opinions. The idea of a territorial sea of 12 miles and an exclusive economic zone
beyond the territorial sea up to a total maximum distance of 200 miles was the
keystone of the coriproraic,e solution favoured by the majority of States .particiPacing
in the CoLfereoce, although acceptance of the idea was of course dependent on the
satisfactory resolution, of other issues, such as passage through straits used for
international navigation, the out: riaost limit of the continental shelf and the
aspirations of the land--locked and other geographically disadvantaged countries, and
there were still differences of opinion over the nature and characteristics of the
concept of the exclusive economic none, Substantial progress had been made on all
the issues involved and the foundation had been laid for negotiations during the
inter3essionni period and at the next sesVon of the Conference.
The fundamental reason why the Second Committee had not achieved, all that had
been hoped was that the bases necessary for arriving at specific agreements on
important and complex issue,, did not exist? The solution sought required a slow
process of reflection and study. Much headway had been made at Caracas, and the
Second Committee had worked soberly and constructively.
Mr, 72I,?;C?. (Mexico) made a formal request for the substantive part of the
Chairman's statement; to be repv'oduced as an annex to document ',/C0rFK2/C., " 8 N
G.M.Ta; I'0 PUII.i, (El Salvador), speaking on behalf of the group of Latin
American countries, said that the Caracas session '~rould be seen as a decisive Step
in the search for a new law of the sea, What had been achieved in Caracas would be
the foundation for the work of the Geneva session. The records of the session did
not show all that had been done; the informal work had been extremely useful. There
was every reason to be optimistic about the outcome of the Conference.
Mr. PA.Vr'I0 G (Thailand), speaking on behalf of the group of Asian
countries, said that the work of the whole Conference depended on the work done in
the Second Corm:iittee. The Asian countries were confident about the future work
of the Conference.
Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R000300040044-5
 A/CONF.641~YbV'?Fo6'r Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82S00697R000300040044-5
English
Page 6
Mr. ROUX (France), speaking as Chairman of the group of Western
Eurorean and other countries and also on behalf of the European Economic
Community, said that the Committee had had to deal. with the more complex and
delicate issues of the Conference. Moreover, there had been less preparatory
on its agenda than on those of the other two Committees. It was gratifying that
the Committee had succeeded in overcoming those handicaps and had roade definite
prog:i"ess.
Mr. APDFU FxA?+?T7 (Egypt), speaking on behalf of the group of. African
countries, said that the delegations of those countries were satisfied that the
Committee was pursuing the right course for successful negotiations leading to a
new order in the international law of the sea.
Mr. PISK (Czechoslovakia), speaking on behalf of the Eastern European
countries, said that the Committee had made positive progress on nearly all the
issues on its agenda. It now had a set of documents on the basis of which progress
could be made at the next session.
Mr. CISSE (Senegal) endorsed the comments of the Egyptian representative.
The African countries were satisfied that a sound basis had been laid for the next
session.
Mr. TARCICI (Yemen), speaking on behalf of the group of Arab cou^.tr i es,
said that it was particularly gratifying that the Chairman of the Committee came
from a country which had much in common with them - especially D. Warm climate and
oil.
Air. FOSII E (Israel) said that although the results of the Committee's
work might not fully meet the Chairman?s hopes and expectations, they should not
be underestimated. The Committee had overcome all its initial disadvantages and
had prepared the basis for continuing its work.
Air, STEVE NSON (United States of America) said that the Corr rittee Was to be
congratulated on having transformed a mass of draft articles into a series of clear
and rational working papers which would give Governments a true picture of the
alternative treaty texas. His delegation hoped to sign the treaty in Caracas next
summer.
Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82S00697R000300040044-5
 Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R000300040044-5
A/CONF.62 /C.2/br.4U
English
Page
Mr. 13RANKOVIC (Yugoslavia) said that he wished to join in the general
congratulations to the Chairman and officers of the Committee and to the
Secretariat.
Mr. I)Y~1TIr0 (Guinea) expressed concern at a report on the radio that more
than 150 countries represented at the Conference had already opted for the 12-mile
territorial sea and the economic zone. The Chairman had made a comment to the same
effect in his infotmal statement. He did not know the basis for the information,
and in any care the Chairman's statement, being a personal one, should not be
appended to document A/CON:. 62/C.2/L, 85.
The facts were that the 200--mile territorial zone was supported by more than
20 African and Latin American countries and it was hoped that the figure would be
more than a hunc1red by the next session. A committee of African, Asian and Latin
American countries had been formed that day under the chairmanship of Ecuador.
Those third world countries understood-that-in :[act the economic zone, of which
they had erpected so much, was meaningless. The only alternative was a 200-mile
territorial zone. They were ready to co-operate but not to support a system which
would mortgage their national territory. Some African countries were prepared to
sell themselves for dollars. The true African countries were the revolutionary
ones, the countries of tomorrow, which supported the 200-mile terr^itcria,l zone.
The CHAIRMAN said that press or radio reports should not be taken as
osnel. His statement was a personal one and in no way engaged the Committee.
Mr, tTAT::,NCIA _ROT RTCrin; (Ecuador') strongly endorsed the views expressed by
the representative Of Guinea with regard to the growing trend in favour of a
territorial sea of 200 miles and also with regard to the inappropriateness of
annexing the Chairman's statement to document A/COIN.62/C.2/L.85.
11r.. ZEGEES (Chile") proposed, in order to avoid conflict, that the
Chairman's statement should be issued as a separate document of the Committee.
NO., CISSE (Senegal', speaking in his capacity as Chairman of the African
group, said that the heads of State of the OAU had not yet made any definitive
pronouncement on the br. eae1th of the territorial sea. The OAJ would have to wait and
see what kind of r teg:i me for the economic zone was likely before being able to
formulate a final position an the territorial sea of 200 miles.
Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R000300040044-5
 A/CCNP.62/C.2/SP 46
English Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R000300040044-5
Page 8
(M Cisse, Senegal)
His country for its part was willing to accept the 12-mile territorial sea on
the condition that the economic zone was not stripped of all meaning.
Mr. .f..IRIAS SCHR:iIEFR (Peru) wondered whether the Chairman's statement was
an accurate reflection of the work of the Committee, especially in the light of the
statements which had just been rnae,de. Apparently the African countries had not
reached a specific agreement on the question of the economic zone and there was
still B. division of opinions in the Committee on that item. The case was not yet
closed.
Any regime which did_ not provide for the sovereign rights of the coastal State
in its economic zone could be far removed from the original intentions of the
authors of that cance'Ot and would leave no other alters tive but a t rritoria l sea
of 200 miles. He respected the Chair-man's a: ght to an opin,.on Wren differed from
hi.?r own but, as far as he was concerned, the Chairman's conments on the economic
zone and territorial sea iwiore subject to many quad ifi.ca?tions.
M ~. ri~T "di (?is=_nya) , supported? by DL-. ARUM (Iraq), said that the Chairman
had been care ul to point o r that his stateiaen t consisted of his personal
observations. Therefore issuing it as an official text of 'the Committee would not
prejudice the position of any d.elegat;ion with regard to the territorial sea or the
economic zone. The Rari~orteur'j statement on the work o'? the Committee was really
only a skeleton re-port and without the Chairmans statement matrr would
have trouble follo,iing the debate which had taken place in the Cof,r atitveo. The
Chairman's statement should be reproduced as a formal. do .urtent of the Corx-,iittee and
in the event that any Objections were raised his delegation would insist upon the
ar,.Plicatio:a of the relevant provisions of the rules of procedure.
The Cl1AIRMQ:N ackno7ale.I ;eel. that a formal proposal had been made by the
representative of Kenya and underlined that he had made his earlier statement in
his personal capacity as Chairman of the Committee. If there were no objections,
he would take it that the, proposal was adopted.
It was so de.cided.
Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82SO0697R000300040044-5
 Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82S00697R0003000401Q1',
English
Page 9
't hr C:iAIE~MAN thanked the representatives of the regional. groups for thoi:?
tributes to him and, to the officers of the Cormiiittee. He c:xpresscd his own
ap reciation to the Committee's officers and the personnel of the Secretariat for
their contribution to the work of the Conference. On behalf of the Government of
Venezuela he "l-tanked all those who had expressed their apps eciation of the
hospitality of the Vez:ezuJ.=n people and Government.
'?'he meLlin yo at 6.335 w_ m
Approved For Release 2002/04/01 : CIA-RDP82S00697R000300040044-5