The growing realization of the enormous resources and economic potential of the seas along with concerns over the impact of long-distance fishing fleets on coastal fish stocks and the threats posed by pollution from ships to coastal communities and ocean life have caused a major shift towards more national authority over maritime areas, leading to a diminution of the extent of the high seas and an attenuation of its freedoms. This development has directly affected the landlocked States as well as other States in a less favourable geographical position with respect to the seas and their resources. This chapter analyzes how landlocked and geographically disadvantaged States sought to safeguard their rights and interests in connection with the emergence of a new law of the sea; the rights granted to them under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC); how these rights have been realized in practice; and the role of these States in the further development of the law of the sea.
On 10 December 2012 the thirtieth anniversary of the opening for signature of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (unclos)2 was commemorated at United Nations Headquarters in New York. This occasion was a most propitious moment to look back at past achievements as well as to reflect on the future evolution of the law of the sea. In this context the rights of landlocked States recognized by the Convention, their historical development and their realization over the last three decades also merit particular consideration. In particular, the question needs to be asked whether these rights, or at least some of them, have perhaps fallen into oblivion. unclos, which entered into force on 16 November 1994, has rightly been called a 'Constitution for the Oceans' ,3 as it provides a comprehensive legal framework to regulate all ocean space, its uses and resources. As of 1 February 2013, 165 States, including 28 landlocked countries and the European Union, were parties; another eight landlocked States have signed the Convention but
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