Abstract
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 declared the international seabed and its enormous mineral resources as common heritage of mankind. This declaration, which was championed by developing countries, raised the hopes of these countries of more revenue to accrue from the bottom of the oceans, and their participation in the recovery of this wealth. Over forty years since the adoption of that historic Convention, all arrangements for the exploration and exploitation of the resources of the deep seabed has excluded the participation of developing nations. This paper critically examines the place of developing countries in on-going efforts to explore and exploit the resources of the international seabed area. It shows that due to subsequent changes to the UNCLOS and poor capital accumulation on the part of developing nations, the chances of developing countries participating directly in seabed mining alongside developed countries has become remote. The paper makes prescriptions on the
way forward for developing countries.
Keywords: Common Heritage, Mankind, UNCLOS, Developing Countries, Seabed Mining.