§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the United Nations Law of the Sea Conference at the session just concluded, indicating the United Kingdom position on major matters unresolved.
§ Mr. Luard:The Sixth Session of the Third United Nations Law of the Sea Conference ended in New York on 15th July 1977. A further Conference text, the Informal Composite Negotiating Text, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House, was issued by the President of the Conference on 20th July 1977. The text contains a number of improvements on the Revised Single Negotiating Text. In particular, the provisions on coastal State regulations affecting ships in territorial seas—Articles 21(2) and 212(3)—the status of waters of the economic zone—Articles 55, 56, 58 and 86—and sharing of revenue derived from exploitation of the Continental Shelf beyond 200 miles—Article 82—contain a number of improvements based on negotiations at the Sixth Session in 845W which the United Kingdom took part. There was also some consolidation of the already widely accepted provisions on straits—Part III of the ICNT—and development of the text on archipelagic States—Part IX of the ICNT—which the United Kingdom can accept. Part XV on the settlement of disputes was further refined.
Thus a large portion of the text embodies a substantial measure of agreement or near agreement.
We are, however, concerned that the provision defining the Continental Shelf—Article 76—is not completed by the inclusion of the definition of the outer edge of the continental margin, which the United Kingdom and other States support.
On the International Seabed Regime, the results were more disappointing. The procedure used has itself caused us considerable concern: Part XI of the ICNT does not reflect the discussions which took place during the Session under the chairmanship of Mr. Evensen but contains some entirely new provisions which were never discussed at the Conference. The most serious feature of the new text is the production control on seabed mining—limiting production to 60 per cent. of the growth in demand for nickel in any one year—which might make little production from the seabed possible and so severely limit international revenues and the development of a wholly new type of international system. In addition, heavy and vaguely defined financial burdens would be placed on operators. The Authority would enjoy ill-defined powers, which could create uncertainty and deter investment, as would the provision for review of the entire system after 20 years. Such a system would not meet the Government's objectives in this part of the negotiations and this part of the text is therefore unacceptable to the United Kingdom in its present form.