CONFIDENTIAL
Background:
General Question of Permanent Sovereignty
Л. It is generally felt by developing countries that their political independence, in some cases newly won, has not been matched by effective control of their economies, and in particular their natural resources. Their resentment of the continuing presence of foreign companies and overseas controlling interents has been specified in demands in UN for a permanent sovereignty over natural resources. The carly GA Resolutions, going back to 1951/2 were moderate in tone and content, but more recently have been couched in extreme terms, and make no reference to constraints upon the exercise of sovereignty or to the requirements of intor national law (for more historical perspective, delegations may like to see paragraph 5 of 10C(78)31 Add 1).
༦༡༠
Demands for permanent sovereignty over natural resources, although expressed well before the Sixth Special Session of the General Assembly in 1964, were included in key resolutions of the New International Economic Order (see separate section). We defended our position on this question at the Sixth Special Session, and at the adoption of the Charter of Economic Rights in 1974 and the lima Declaration in 1977 (see texts of reservations ir. "Compendium of Interpretative Statements and Reservations": IOC(79)33). We do of course sympathise with the demands for an equitable evolution
of economic relationships between North and South. We further appreciate that some arcas of international law are seen as inequitable by developing countries. But it is in the interests of developing as well as developed countries that international economic relationships progress on a basis of existing international customary law and respect for treaties, and we have less room for manoeuvre on this question than on many other issues of the lorth/South dialogue. It is the opinion of our Legal Advisers that failure to restate our unequivocal position could be interpreted as an act of acquiescence on our part.
3. There are two recent trends that can be observed in relation to resolutions on this subject. Firstly recent resolutions have
/successfully
(91)
Page 120Page 121