less-developed countries at the UN to secure the adoption of resolutions dealing with permanent sovereignty over natural resources. The product of the Bogota meeting has been described both as a "pretension" and as a "counterpoise" by the equatorial States against a "de facto appropriation by states with advanced technology . . . [they] asserted de jure 'territorial' claims to sectors of the geostationary orbit notwithstanding the prohibitions against national appropriation set forth in the space treaties." The Bogota Declaration identified five areas of concern. First, the eight States described the geostationary orbit as a natural resource. They said: Equatorial countries declare that the geostationary synchronous orbit is a physical fact linked to the reality of our planet because its existence depends exclusively on its relation to gravitational phenomena generated by the earth, and that is why it must not be considered part of outer space. Therefore, the segments of geostationary synchronous orbit are part of the territory over which Equatorial states exercise their national sovereignty. A notable illustration is General Assembly Resolution 1803 (XVII) of December 13, 1962. Actually, General Assembly Resolutions dating from 1952 advance this claim. The Bogota Declaration made reference to General Assembly Resolution 2692 (XXV) of December 11, 1970, entitled "Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources of Developing Countries and Expansion of Domestic Sources of Accumulation for Economic Development." This Resolution spoke of land and marine resources but not air or space resources. Also motivating the Bogota States was a general feeling that proposals emanating from the ITU relating to orbits and frequencies were impracticable and unfair. J. Henry Glazer, op. cit., pp. 81, 114. Scholarly comment on the claims of the equatorial States has been generally negative. See the articles set forth in the Addendum to the Bibliography. These were presented at the 20th and 21st Colloquia on the Law of Outer Space of the International Astronautical Federation in 1977 and in 1978. First Meeting of Equatorial Countries," p. 2, mimeo.
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