CM/Res.238 (XVI)
PROBLEMS OF THE SEA-BED
The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting in its Sixteenth Ordinary Session, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 11 to 14 June 1971,
Being informed by the African Group at the United Nations of the urgent need to participate profitably and effectively in the exploitation of the sea-bed,
Determined to protect the individual national interests of Member States in this connection, and especially within their territorial waters,
RECOMMENDS that the Assembly of Heads of State and Government to issue the necessary directives on the vital and urgent problem of international regulation of the exploration, exploitation and utilization of the natural resources of the sea and its sub - soil, having particular regard to the legitimate interests of the African countries;
REQUESTS the Scientific Council of Africa, to which legal and economic experts
are to be attached, and the Legal Section of the Secretariat, to undertake a study of all aspects of the problem of the exploration, exploitation and utilization of the natural resources of the sea and its sub-soil, and to prepare for Member States as soon as possible a memorandum designed to facilitate the harmonizing of their positions in regard to this problem, with a view to presenting a united front at international meetings on the subject.