
Arvid Pardo (February 12, 1914 – June 19, 1999) was a
Maltese and
Swedish diplomat of Jewish origin, scholar, and university professor. He is known as the
Father of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Pardo was born in Rome. His father, Guido Pardo, was born in Malta in 1874 to Enrico Pardo of Sephardic Jewish origin from Livorno. Guido Pardo worked for the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...
and died of
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
while on a relief mission in the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in 1922. His Swedish mother died a year later during an
appendectomy
An appendectomy (American English) or appendicectomy (British English) is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedur ...
and his brother was killed in an automobile accident. He became the
ward of a friend of his father,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
diplomat
Bernardo Attolico, who served as Ambassador to
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, the Soviet Union,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
. Attolico sent him to school at Collegio Mondragone,
Frascati
Frascati () is a city and in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, ...
, and the young Pardo spent his vacations with Attolico at the latter's various diplomatic posts.
Pardo spoke
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
English,
French,
Swedish and
Spanish fluently, and knew
German fairly well. As a student in pre-war Rome, he met Margit Claeson, a Swedish textile designer. In 1947, once his finances were secure, he went to Sweden to find her (they had lost touch during the war) and married her. They had three children: Christina (1949, m. Menez), Lars (1951) and David (1952), all educated in England. His wife and children all outlived him.
Pardo graduated in international law at the
University of Rome in 1939. When
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
began, he commenced underground activities as an anti-
Fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
organizer but was arrested by the Italian authorities in 1939. After the fall of
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
's government, he was freed in September 1943, but was re-arrested at once by the
Gestapo
The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
and kept in Alexanderplatz and Charlottenburg Prisons in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
under a sentence of death. In 1945, as the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
approached Berlin, the
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
officials and the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...
arranged his release. After the Soviets entered Berlin, Pardo was arrested again and interrogated. Once released, he crossed the
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
, walking to the Allied lines, and made contact with British and American forces. He was sent to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, where he arrived penniless.
At first Pardo worked as a dishwasher and waiter in a London restaurant chain until he sought out a friend of his father's, David Owen, who was then helping to set up the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
in London. Owen hired him as an assistant in the documentary section, and despite holding a doctorate, he worked as a junior clerk in charge of archives in 1945–6. He then served in the
Department of Trusteeship and Non-Self-Governing Territories until 1960. He then joined the Secretariat of the Technical Assistance Board (forerunner of the
UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...
) and served as deputy representative in
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
and
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, where he was stationed before being selected in 1964 as the first Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations by the newly independent country that he had visited only briefly during his life.
During his time as UN delegate, which ended in 1971 after
Dom Mintoff's return to office, Pardo's lasting achievement was his work to reform the law of the sea. On 1 November 1967, he made an electrifying speech before the
General Assembly calling for international regulations to ensure peace at sea, to prevent further pollution and to protect ocean resources. He proposed that the seabed constitutes part of the
common heritage of mankind
Common heritage of humanity (also termed the common heritage of mankind, common heritage of humankind or common heritage principle) is a principle of international law that holds the defined territorial areas and elements of humanity's common heri ...
, a phrase that appears in Article 136 of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international treaty that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 169 sov ...
, and asked that some of the sea's wealth be used to bankroll a fund that would help close the gap between rich and poor nations. It was Pardo who initiated the fifteen-year process that would culminate in 1982, when the Convention was opened for signatures, and in the early years, he continued a dedicated effort to promote the issue, for instance helping achieve near-unanimous passage of GA Resolution 2749 on December 17, 1970. This resolution embodied principles regarding the seabed and its resources that would later be incorporated into the Convention. Pardo was unhappy with the final instrument's provision for an
Exclusive Economic Zone
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
, lamenting that the common heritage of mankind had been whittled down to "a few fish and a little seaweed".
From 1967 to 1971, Pardo was also
Malta's Ambassador to the United States. During the same period served as Ambassador to the USSR and was High Commissioner to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
from 1969 to 1971. He was Malta's representative at the Preparatory Commission of the Law of the Sea conference in 1972 and led the Maltese delegation to the UN Seabed Committee from 1971 to 1973.
From 1972 to 1975 Pardo was coordinator of the ocean studies program at the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...
in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
From 1975 to 1990 he was on the
USC USC may refer to:
Education
United States
* Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico
* University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina
* ...
faculty, teaching political science (1975–81) and international relations (1981–90). For those fifteen years, he was a senior fellow at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Studies.
Pardo was made a
Knight of Malta in 1992. He was resident in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
when he died there in 1999 (some sources claim he was living in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
and died there).
[Death notice](_blank)
.[.][.]
Notes
References
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*
*
External links
Pardo's 1967 speech
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pardo, Arvid
People from Frascati
1914 births
1999 deaths
Permanent representatives of Malta to the United Nations
Ambassadors of Malta to the United States
Ambassadors of Malta to the Soviet Union
High commissioners of Malta to Canada
Maltese people of Swedish descent
Diplomats from Rome
Italian people of Swedish descent
Italian people of Maltese descent
20th-century diplomats