The solutions proposed by the International Telecommunication Union in the relevant documents with a view to achieving a better use of the geostationary orbit and preventing its imminent saturation are at present impracticable, and are also unfair, because they would considerably increase the cost of utilizing this resource, especially for developing countries. Such countries do not have the same technological and financial resources as industrialized countries, which enjoy an evident monopoly in the exploitation and use of the synchronous geostationary orbit. In spite of the principle established by Article 33, paragraph 2, of the 1973 International Telecommunication Convention, that in using frequency bands for space radio services, Members shall bear in mind that radio frequencies and the geostationary satellite orbit are limited natural resources and that they must be used efficiently and economically so as to allow equitable access to this orbit and to its frequencies, we can see that both the geostationary orbit and the frequencies have been used in a way that does not allow equitable access to the developing countries, which do not have the technical and financial means that the great Powers have. Therefore, it is essential for the equatorial countries to state their determination to exercise their sovereignty over the corresponding segments of the geostationary orbit. 2. Sovereignty of equatorial States over the corresponding segments of the geostationary orbit In describing this orbit as a natural resource, the equatorial States reaffirm "the right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources, which must be exercised in the interest of their national development and of the well-being of the people of the State concerned", as stated in Resolution 2692 (XXV) of the United Nations General Assembly, entitled "Permanent sovereignty over natural resources of developing countries and expansion of domestic sources of accumulation for economic development". Furthermore, the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States solemnly adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 3281 (XXIX) once more confirms the existence of a sovereign right of States over their natural resources, in Article 2, paragraph 1, which reads: "Every State has and shall freely exercise full permanent sovereignty, including possession, use and disposal, over all its wealth, natural resources and economic activities". The above-mentioned provisions lead the equatorial States to affirm that the synchronous geostationary orbit, being a natural resource, is under the sovereignty of the equatorial States. 3. Legal status of the geostationary orbit Bearing in mind the existence of sovereign rights over the segments of the geostationary orbit, the equatorial countries consider that the legal system applicable in this area must take into account the following:
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