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Phoebe Stephens | Equity Norms in Global Environmental Governance
area is not appropriable by private actors and not subject to sovereignty
claims (Joyner 195). ‘Heritage’ implies future considerations of the resource
under question, which addresses concerns of intergenerational equity.
Though presumably world leaders would have settled on a more genderneutral
term had the CHM been introduced later in the century, ‘mankind’
refers to all people on the planet. This goes beyond states and national
governments as it includes stateless people or those living in territories that
lack full independence (Joyner 195). It is therefore based on the unit of the
individual, which is reminiscent of the concept of individual accountability in
human rights. As Joyner states, “the interests, needs and aspirations
associated with “all mankind” would appear greater than the sum of all
States’ national interests.” (195)
Though there is contestation surrounding the origins of CHM (S.
Williams 792) most scholars attribute the introduction of the principle to the
international community to Arvid Pardo, the Permanent Representative of
Malta to the UN, in 1967. In a seminal speech made to the UN General
Assembly, Pardo urged countries to consider the oceans as CHM. For Pardo,
the CHM included several defining characteristics: first, common areas
should not be legally owned by any state or group of states and the
international community would administer the area; second, if natural
resources were exploited from the area, the economic benefits would be
shared internationally, with favourable distribution to developing countries;
third, the area would only be used for peaceful purposes; last, the results of
scientific research in the area would be shared with anyone interested in the
findings and would be conducted to benefit all peoples (Joyner 192). The
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