Memorial to Father of the Law of the Sea Conference

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi unveiled a bust of Arvid Pardo, the "Father of the Law of the Sea Conference", at the International Maritime Institute at the University of Malta.

Arvid Pardo was a Maltese diplomat, scholar and university professor. He was Malta's first Permanent Representative to the United Nations from independence in 1964 to 1971.

On November 1, 1967, Prof. Pardo addressed the UN General Assembly calling for international regulations to ensure peace at sea, to prevent further pollution and to protect ocean resources.

He proposed that the seabed constitutes part of the "common heritage of mankind", a phrase that appears in article 136 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and asked that some of the sea's wealth be used to bankroll a fund that would help close the gap between rich and poor nations.

Working on this initiative, the UN General Assembly adopted a declaration providing that all seabed resources beyond the limits of national jurisdiction constitute the common heritage of mankind. Fifteen years later, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted after attracting a record 159 signatures.

The Convention provided the international community with an effective legal framework covering navigational rights, territorial sea limits, rights of passage, questions of economic jurisdiction, the conservation and management of living marine resources and procedures for the peaceful settlement of disputes.

Prof. Pardo also served as Malta's Ambassador to the United States between 1967 and 1971. During the same period he served as Ambassador to the USSR and was High Commissioner to Canada from 1969 to 1971.

He was also Malta's representative at the Preparatory Commission of the Law of the Sea Conference in 1972 and led the Maltese delegation to the UN Seabed Committee from 1971 to 1973.

Prof. Pardo died in the US in 1999.