General Conclusion

Abstract

A study of the evolution and development of the regime of the Area reveals that African states contributed greatly to the emergence of the legal regime of the Area, including the central principle that the Area and the mineral resources therein are the CHM. After the momentous speech of Arvid Pardo, African states, working closely with other developing states, rallied behind the declaration of the Area and its resources as the CHM, mainly perhaps for the self-interested reason, acting on the erroneous perception of the imminence of commercial exploitation, that it would provide a source of “free” money for development, as a result of the distributive aspect of the principle that gave a preference to developing states, including African states. Further, the formulation of the regime in the UNCLOS III provided an avenue for African states to seek to put their “stamp of influence” on the international law of the sea, by being part of the introduction of a regime that was not in existence under the traditional law of the sea that had evolved without their input. Largely, the position of African states on this regime could be said to be a “power-show” to confront the status quo and to seek to water down what appeared to be the overbearing domination of western industrialised states in the law of the sea.