Third review conference on operation of Sea-Bed Treaty adopts Final Declaration.

The Conference on Disarmament has been asked to proceed promptly" with consideration of further disarmament measures "to prevent an arms race on the sea-bed, the ocean floor and the subsoil thereof". The appeal was made by States parties to the 1972 treaty banning nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction from the sea-bed.

In a Final Declaration adopted at the closing of their third treaty Review Conference (Geneva, 19-28 September), the States parties also reaffirmed their commitment to continue negotiations in good faith concerning such measures.

Sergio de Queiroz Duarte of Brazil, Conference President, said the work of the Conference was facilitated by the current positive climate in international relations in matters dealing with disarmament and security.

Despite its relatively limited character, the Sea-Bed Treaty had been recognized as a significant measure in preventing at least one aspect of the geographical proliferation of nuclear weapons, he said.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof, as it is formally known, entered into force on 18 May 1972. As of 28 September 1989, a total of 105 States had signed it, and 82 had acceded to it.

The First and Second Review Conferences were held in Geneva in 1977 and 1983, respectively At the Third Review Conference, a three-day general debate was followed by an article-by-article review of the Treaty's implementation.

Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, in a message to the Conference, said the Sea-Bed Treaty was an important preventive measure in the field of arms limitation and disarmament.

In the Final Declaration, States parties reaffirmed their strong common interest in avoiding an arms race on the sea-bed in nuclear weapons or any other types of weapons of mass destruction. They also reaffirmed their strong support for the Treaty.

The Conference confirmed that the obligations assumed under article I of the Treaty had been faithfully observed by the States parties. States parties, in turn, confirmed that they had not emplaced any nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction on the sea-bed outside the zone of application of the Treaty and had no intention to do so.

Article I calls for States parties not to place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction beyond the outer limit of a sea-bed zone defined in article II as coterminous with the 12-mile zone referred to in the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone.

The Conference decided, in principle, to hold a Fourth Review Conference in Geneva, not earlier than 1996.

The Conference noted the fact that no information had been presented to it indicating that major technological developments had taken place since 1983 which affected the operation of the Treaty.

The Secretary-General was asked to report by 1992, and every three years thereafter until the Fourth Review Conference was convened, on technological developments relevant to the Treaty. All States parties were urged to assist him by providing information.

The Conference welcomed the adherence of 10 States to the Treaty since the Second Review Conference. It called on the States that had not yet become parties, particularly those possessing nuclear weapons or any other types of weapons of mass destruction, to do so at the earliest possible date.