THE ANTARCTIC TREATY (1959) – A CRITICAL OVERVIEW

The treaty was officially entered into force on June 23, 1961. The original signatories were the 12 countries (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States) active in Antarctica during the 1957–58. These countries have established more than 50 Antarctic research stations for the International Geophysical Year (IGY).

 

Purpose of the Treaty:  It is in the interest of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and the continuance of international harmony in Antarctica. It also aims that it will not be the scene or object of international discord. The treaty was a diplomatic expression of the operational and scientific cooperation that had been accomplished on the ice. Major Provisions of treaty are as follows:

 

Article 1 – The Antarctic region to be used for peaceful purposes only; military activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited but military personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purpose;

 

Article 2 – Freedom of scientific investigations and cooperation shall continue;

 

Article 3 – Free exchange of information and personnel in cooperation with the United Nations and other international agencies;

 

Article 4 – The treaty does not recognize, dispute, nor establish territorial sovereignty claims; no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force;

 

Article 5 – The treaty prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive wastes;

 

Article 6 – Includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves but not the surrounding waters south of 60 degrees 00 minutes south;

 

Article 7 – Treaty-state observers have free access, including aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all stations, installations, and equipment; advance notice of all activities and of the introduction of military personnel must be given;

 

Article 8 – Allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists by their own states;

 

Article 9 – Frequent consultative meetings take place among member nations;

 

Article 10 – All treaty states will discourage activities by any country in Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty;

 

Article 11 – All disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties concerned or, ultimately, by the International Court of Justice;

 

Articles 12, 13 and 14 – Deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among involved nations¹.

 

Antarctica is humanity's last well-preserved repository. Under the continental shelf, there are massive mineral resources and the surrounding seas are full of bio-resources. Further, the continent of Antarctica contains 90% of the world's fresh water and with growing world's population Antarctica is attracting more and more attention.

 

Antarctica is fascinating because it is "no one's" property legally. There has no permanent residents and therefore it has neither citizenship nor any government. All present occupants on Antarctica at any time are nationals of some sovereignty outside of Antarctica, as there is no sovereignty of Antarctic continent. It is accessible to all. The only question is how much longer this status will continue?

 

Except the official claims of Antarctic territory ("British Antarctic Territory", "Ross Dependency", "Adélie Land", "Peter I Island", "Australian Antarctic Territory", "Queen Maud Land", Chilean Antarctic Territory and "Argentine Antarctica") which were claimed before the treaty executed, other countries (Brazil, Peru, Russia, South Africa and United States) participating as members of Antarctic Treaty have a territorial interest in this continent but the Antarctic Treaty does not allow them to make their claims while it is in force. These countries will possibly claim some part of Antarctic in future. Russia has discovered Antarctica and is one of the most widely represented countries there. Russia has five polar stations and one polar base, where extensive scientific research programs are carried out. India has two permanent research stations in the Antarctica which are Maitri Station (1989) and Bharati (2012).

 

¹. Source: Wikipedia