Preventing an arms race on the sea-bed

Intense efforts within the framework of the United Nations to prevent an arms race on the sea-bed and ocean floor began when the Soviet Union and the United States submitted to the CCD, in 1969, a joint draft treaty which would ban from the sea-bed, beyond the “maximum contiguous zone” provided for in the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone (i.e., 12 miles), nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction, as well as structures, launching installations or any other facilities specifically designed for storing, testing or using such weapons. That draft and a subsequent revised joint draft were given extensive consideration, both at the CCD and at the twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly. A number of States had called for the strengthening of the draft provisions to protect the rights of coastal States, particularly with regard to (a) their rights over the continental shelf, (b) their participation in verification procedures and (c) the international machinery for verification of implementation of the treaty.

Related Subject(s): Disarmament