Law of the sea: 'refrain from undermining the Convention'.

Calling on States to consider signing and ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the General Assembly has appealed to all countries "to refrain from taking any action derected at undermining the Convention or defeating its object and purpose".

It also called on all States to safeguard the unified character of the Convention. The Assembly adopted resolution 38/59 A on 14 December, by a recorded vote of 136 in favour to 2 against (Turkey, United States), with 6 abstentions (Belgium, Bolivia, Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, Italy, United Kingdom).

The General Assmebly in the resolution approved the recommendations contained in the Secretary-General's report on the Third Conference on the Law of the Sea (document A/38/570).

One recommendation was that the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Law of the Sea should continue on an established basis as the core office of the United Nations for law of the sea matters.

The Secretary-General's report said the Office--set up in 1974 as the secretariat for the Conference-- possessed the necessary background knowledge and experience of the work of the Conference, the political and economic objectives of States, the intricacies of the formal and informal documentation of the Conference and the detailed features of the deifferent parts of the Convention. Its work would be complemented by relevant activities of other United Nations departments and bodies involved in marine affairs. Financing Issue: In the debate several countries had reservations about a preambular paragraph in the law of the sea resolution, which recalled the Assembly's approval of financing the expenses of the Preparatory Commission established by the Convention from the regular budget of the United Nations. Turkey reiterated that it reserved its right not to contribute to the expenses "emanating from the implementation" of the Law of the Sea Convention. The United States said that the costs of the Commission should be borne by those nations party to the Treaty. Also, it would not support that part of the Convention dealing with deep seabed development and would continue to withhold its share of the regular budget which was earmarked to Part xi of the Convention.

Addressing the United States position that it was illegitimate to charge the expenses of the Preparatory Commission to the regular budget of the United Nations, Singapore suggested that the doubt be resolved by seeking an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice. A 'Major Achievement': In his report to the Assembly, the Secretary-General stated that the Law of the Sea Convention stood out as an exception in an era of eroding multilateralism and internationalism. Its adoption constituted one of the major achievements in the history of international relations, and the Organization should consolidate the successful outcome of that multilateral acceptance and effective application of the new legal regime of the seas.

The report further stated that the long-term planning process has taken into account that there would be no significant change in the totality of the Secretary-General's responsibilities in law of the sea affairs when the Convention comes into force. Most of his functions would continue, and major new ones would commence, including the servicing of various meetings of States parties, the establishment of the Secretariat for the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and new reporting functions.

The Secretary-General said he would continue to treat the law of the sea as a specialized field of international relations involving important aspects of international law, politics and economics. He would be required to study and maintain information on developments in the field and respong to information, advice and assistance needs of Governments and international bodies.

The report added that the institutional arrangements for the law of the sea should reflect the unity of the Convention and avoid dispersal of tasks by sector or field of interest, respond to the requirements of Governments for information, advice and assistance and take advantage of the available expertise within the Secretariat.

The Preparatory Commission which is drawing up plans for the International Sea-Bed Authority and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, will meet at Kingston, Jamaica from 19 March to 13 April, and will hold a session for the working groups in New York or Geneva during the summer.

Bernardo Zuleta, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Law of the Sea Conference, died on 1 December 1983

The General Assembly paid tribute to Mr. Zuleta, in resolution 38/59 B (adopted without a vote).

Mr. Zuleta's services to the Law of the Sea Conference "were decisive for the elaboration of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and for the progressive development of international law and international cooperation", the Assembly stated.

Tommy T.B. Koh (Singapore), President of the Law of the Sea Conference, told the Assembly that the name of Mr. Zuleta--like the name of H.S Amerasinghe, President of the Conference until his death in December, 1980-- "will forever be linked to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea".

Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar said that, as a friend and colleague, he could testify to Mr. Zuleta's "dignified and unyielding efforts for the realization of one of the major accomplishments of the United Nations, which is the Convention on the Law of the Sea".

Mr. Zuleta, a national of Colombia, had held the post of Special Representative since November 1974.

Satya Nandan was appointed successor to Bernardo Zuleta as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Law of the Sea Matters as of 16 January 1984.

Mr. Nandan, a national of Fiji, had been Deputy Special Representative since March 1983; previous to that, he was Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office.

Mr Nandan played a prominent role during the nine years of work of the Law of the Sea Conference.