The third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea adjourned for the weekend after running into heavy weather. A demand by the Arab League delegate, Mamdouh Azzam, to seat representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization as observers, was denounced as illegal by the head of the Israeli delegation, Ambassador Amiel Najjar. He said that Israel hoped to avoid “utterly useless” political discussions of matters unrelated to the problems confronting the conference. But he warned that if there is a debate on seating the PLO, the Israeli delegation would make its position Known “with the necessary spirit.”
Azzam told the conference Thursday that equity and justice demanded the participation of the PLO in formulating laws of the sea because they would be affected once their “national aspirations” are fulfilled. Ambassador Noureddine Djoudi, of Algeria, the assistant secretary general of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) which is backing the Arab League demand, said the matter would be put to the conference when it reconvenes this week.
The Arab countries form a strong bloc at the conference. They are represented among its 31 vice-presidents and on its various committees. Israel is one of the few countries among the 135 participants that is unaffiliated with any bloc. Najjar noted that the conference’s composition was decided by a UN resolution last Nov. and changes now would be illegal.
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