Brazil at the third United Nations conference on the law of the sea

Abstract

As Brazil began to emerge as a major power in the years leading up to theThird United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), national ocean policy came to have a quite continuous, distinctive impact on global law of the sea negotiations. Brazil's participation at UNCLOS III offers a particularly good vantage point from which to analyze its more prominent international role as an emerging major power, its related growth as a maritime power, and its significant contribution to international organization.

UNCLOS III, in turn, affects Brazil. The broad implications of the emerging ocean order for both national and international jurisdiction issues, within which Brazilian ocean policy must operate, are analyzed. Brazil's distinctive position as an emerging power between the industrialized countries and the Third World has conditioned its involvement at UNCLOS III. As a developing state, Brazil has favored revision of the traditional order for the purpose of redressing the balance with the developed states. At the same time, as an emerging power, Brazil has an interest in supporting a stable, open international order. In spite of such policy dilemmas, Brazil stands out as one of the few big potential winners in the Third World from both the seabed and non‐seabed portions of the law of the sea negotiations.