COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON NEW YORK SESSION OF THE THIRD U.N. LAW OF THE 73-029 MAY 20, 1976 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1976 SUBCOMMITTEE ON OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT CLAIBORNE PELL, Rhode Island, Chairman SEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware ROBERT P: GRIFFIN, Michigan ARTHUR M. KUHL, Staff Associate DAVID KEANEY, Staff Associate (II) KF26 CONTENTS tement of: Learson, Hon. T. Vincent, Ambassador at Large and Head of the rtion for the record: Foreign Service Officers Accredited to the Law of the Sea Conference__ endix: Page 2 25 Ambassador Learson's responses to additional questions for the The Third United Nations Conference of the Law of the Sea, New (III) LAW OF THE SEA THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1976 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in room 457, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Claiborne Pell (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senators Pell and Case. Senator PELL. The Subcommittee on Oceans and International Environment will please come to order. OPENING STATEMENT The purpose of today's hearing is to receive a report on the New York session of the Law of the Sea Conference from the head of our delegation, Ambassador T. Vincent Learson. I had the good fortune to serve as a delegate to the New York session as well as to two earlier sessions in Caracas and Geneva. Having been on hand for a portion of the New York session, I can personally attest to the fine work which Ambassador Learson and all of the members of his negotiating team have been doing. I have had a long and deep interest in the oceans and in Law of the Sea for many years, going back, in fact, to my service at the San Francisco United Nations Conference in 1945. Having seen two previous Law of the Sea Conferences, in 1958 and 1960, come and go with little to show for their efforts, I am encouraged so far by the results of the third conference, which began its substantive sessions in 1974. While I will defer to Ambassador Learson for an evaluation of the results of the most recent session, I came away with the impression that a new spirit of accommodation pervades the conference and that prospects are improved for a Law of the Sea Treaty within a reasonable period of time. To my mind it is not essential that a treaty be concluded this year or next year or the year after that. What is important is that the United States remain committed to a sound treaty, however long that may take. I hope the setting of deadlines will be avoided. What concerns me most at this point in the negotiations, when things seem to be going fairly well, is the possibility that legislation may be enacted to license deep seabed mining without waiting for the outcome of the Law of the Sea Conference. The Senate is currently considering S. 713 to authorize such activity, which in my view could wreck the conference and pre |