Sunday | 12 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
বাংলা
   
Sunday | 12 January 2025 | Epaper

CHM and interests of developing countries

Published : Tuesday, 3 December, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 254
Muhammad Muzahidul Islam
There are particular locations beyond the national jurisdictions in the sea that do not belong to any States. No one can claim ownership of this particular area. Under the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), this particular location is recognised as Area. How was this area defined under the UNCLOS? How should the resources that come from the activities in the area be shared?

We know that the "common heritage of mankind (CHM)" is a general concept of international law. Let me share with you some relevant information about this concept from an essay authored by Prue Taylor (The Common Heritage of Mankind: A Bold Doctrine Kept Within Strict Boundaries, THE WEALTH OF THE COMMONS). According to this essay, "Legal discussion of CHM generally begins with the speech of the Maltese ambassador Arvid Pardo (1914-1999) to the United Nations in 1967. In this speech he proposed that the seabed and ocean floor beyond national jurisdiction be considered the CHM. This was an important event that triggered the later negotiation of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS III) and other legal developments that subsequently earned Arvid Pardo the title "father of the law of the sea." But CHM has a much longer history, and Pardo drew upon this in developing CHM as a legal concept for the oceans. Other people, including the writer and environmentalist Elisabeth Mann Borgese (1918 - 2002) considered CHM an ethical concept central to a new world order, based on new forms of cooperation, economic theory and philosophy. This history is important to elucidating the ethical core of CHM: the responsibility of humans to care for and protect the environment, of which we are a part, for present and future generations".

The essay mentioned above states that "The CHM was originally intended as a concept that would revolutionize the law of the sea by applying to all ocean space and resources. But in 1967 Arvid Pardo recognized that this would be rejected by the powerful states who were attempting to extend their sovereign claims to more ocean space and resources. By focusing on the legal status of the much more limited entity of the "seabed" beyond national jurisdiction, it was thought that CHM could gain an important foothold within the U.N. system.The 1967 Maltese proposal lead to a number of important developments, including the 1970 U.N. General Assembly Declaration of Principles Governing the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor and the Subsoil Thereof, Beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction. This declaration set out the legal principles needed to implement the notion that the seabed and its resources are the CHM, and it helped create consensus for the negotiation of a new law of the sea convention: UNCLOS III (U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea). The ultimate outcome was a much more limited application of CHM than ever intended by its advocates. As will be explained immediately below, UNCLOS III restricted the application of CHM to a few rocks, e.g., mineral resources such as manganese nodules, sitting on the bottom of the deep seabed."

The essay above further states that "Part XI of UNCLOS III deals with the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof (the "Area") beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. Article 136 declares the Area and its resources (only) to be the "common heritage of mankind." The Area and its resources cannot be claimed, appropriated, or owned by any state or person (Article 137). All rights to resources belong to mankind as a whole, with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) acting on mankind's behalf (Article 140). The ISA must ensure the equitable sharing of financial and other benefits arising from activities in the Area, taking into particular account the needs and interests of developing states and others. Promotion of research, transfer of technology to developing states and protection of the marine environment's ecological balance are all important functions of the ISA (Articles 143-145)."

According to the website of ISA, in July 2023, the Finance Committee (FC) considered a draft proposal for the establishment of a fund. And it states that "The proposed fund has been referred to as the Common Heritage Fund and is intended to invest in capacity development, knowledge and competence related to the ocean with a view to enhancing ISA's contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The rationale behind its establishment is to create and maintain inherent value for generations to come.The Council and the Assembly expressed support for the objectives of the Fund and invited the FC to continue working on both the equitable distribution formulae and on the Common Heritage Fund for the equitable sharing of financial benefits derived from activities in the Area".We would expect more initiatives from the ISA.

The writer is a barrister-at-law, human rights activist and an advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh



LATEST NEWS
MOST READ
Also read
This is right time to dismantle RAB
Beware of fireworks on the eve of new year 
Peace in Myanmar, region depends on lasting solution to Rohingya issue
What to do for physical and mental health 
Goodbye 2024: A year marked by new escalated conflicts
Accountability is a must-but how?
Comrade Moni Singh: A legend of sacrifice in politics
A better tomorrow with the awakening of 2024
Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Online: 41053014; Advertisement: 41053012.
E-mail: district@dailyobserverbd.com, news©dailyobserverbd.com, advertisement©dailyobserverbd.com, For Online Edition: mailobserverbd©gmail.com
🔝
close