text: sea-bed areashallalsobeopentouseexclusively forpeaceful purposes. Its development meansineffectthepeaceful useofthesea-bed beyondnational jurisdiction. Thisisthereasonfortheimportance oftheConvention regime qoyerning thesea-bed andoceanfloorandsubsoil thereof beyondnational jurisdiction (knownasthe"Area") anditsresources asthe"common heritage of mankind" (art.136).Thisregimeprovides thatactivities intheAreashallbe carried outforthebenefit ofmankind asaWhole,takingintoparticular consideration theinterests andneedsofdeveloping .States andofpeoples whohaYe notattained fullindependence orotherself-governing status. Inthisrespect, theregime makesaninteqral contribution tofulfilling therequirements ofanew international economic order. 17.TheConvention ontheLawoftheSeaisdiscussed ingreater detailin chapter V,buttherecanbelittledoubtthatitsentryintoforce, 12monthsafter ratification oraccession by60States, willhaveamajorimpactontheconduct of international relations related totheusesandexploitation ofoceanspace. C.Briefhistorical background ofmeaSures ofnaval armSlimitations andrelated matters upto1945 18.Although navalarmslimitations havereceived almost noattention inrecent years, suchwasnotthecasebeforetheSecond Worldwar;infact,therehasbeena longhistory ofmeasures toachieve control andevenreductions innavalarms.2/ Oneoftheearlyandbest-known examples istheRush-Bagot Agreement of1817 regarding thenavalforcesontheNorthAmerican GreatLakeswhichdemilitarized partofthefrontier between Canada andtheUnitedStatesofAmerica. This agreement wasverysuccessful andisstillinforce. Thepolitical climate between thetwoStates improved tosuchanextentthattheycouldlaterdispense withall military protection oftheircommonborder. interest in andthe Russia and19.TheParisPeaceConference of1856,aftertheCrimean War,isof threerespects. First,thePeaceTreatydemilitarized theBlackSea, Straits oftheDardanelles andtheBosphorus wereclosedtowarships. Turkey undertook nottoestablish ortomaintain ontheirshores any military-maritime arsenals. Furthermore, theywerenottomaintain inthe Seaanywarships otherthansixsteamvessels, notexceeding 50metres (m) lengthand800tonsburden, andfourlightvessels, notexceeding 200tonsBlack in each. /...A/40/535 English Page12 Second, theTreatydemilitarized thearchipelago oftheAalandIslands inthe Baltic Seaanddefortified theislands. Third,thePeaceConference adopted a declaration onsomebasicprinciples ofthelawofmaritime warfare. The provisions concerning thedemilitarization oftheBlackSeawere,however, almost completely abrogated byatreatyconcluded inLondonin1871. 20.In1902Argentina andChile, bythePactosdeMayo,agreedtocanceltheir ordersforwarvessels underconstruction andtogivenoticeinadvance ofanynew construction. Thisagreement functioned successfully forthefollowing sixyears andtemporarily halted anavalarmsraceinthearea. 21.In1907thirteen conventions wereadopted atTheHague,almostallofthemon thelawofwarfare andneutrality andeightofthem(Nos.VItoXIII)onthelawof navalwarfare. TheSUbject-matter dealtwithbythedifferent conventions inclUded automatic submarine contact mines, bombardment bynavalforces andthehumanitarian principles oftheGenevaConvention Of1906adapted towaratsea. 22.In1920atreatyconcluded atParisgaveNorwayfullsovereignty overthe Spitzbergen (Svalbard) archipelago. Norway onitspartundertook "nottocreate nortoallowtheestablishment ofanynavalbaseintheterritories specified". According tothetreaty, thearchipelago "mayneverbeusedforwarlike purposes". 23.In1921aconference convened bytheLeagueofNations adopted aConvention on theAalandIslands. TheConvention reaffirmed andextended thenon-fortification rulesof1856andintroduced aregimeofneutralization incaseofwar.Theresult isaregimeofdemilitarization applicable toadefined zone,i.e.theAaland Islands andathree-mile-wide zonesurrounding them. 24.TheWashington Conference ontheLimitation ofArmaments in1921-1922 resulted inanumberoflimitations onthenavalarmaments andcertain activities ofthe contracting Powers, namelytheUnitedStatesofAmerica, theBritish Empire, France, ItalyandJapan. TheNavalTreaty, adopted on6February 1922,introduced quantitative, qualitative andnumerical restrictions onlargewarships. For instance, thecapital shipsthatcouldberetained werelisted byname;limitations wereplacedoncapital shipandaircraft-carrier replacement tonnage; maximum individual tonnage limitswerefixedforcapital shipsandaircraft-carriers;
analysis: The text appears to be discussing international agreements and treaties related to the use of the world's oceans, including the demilitarization of naval forces and the regulation of natural resources such as the sea-bed and ocean floor. The text also touches on the concept of the "common heritage of mankind" and the importance of international cooperation in managing the world's oceans. Given the focus on international agreements and the regulation of natural resources, it is likely that the category that best fits this text is one related to international relations and natural resources.