Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Governing the Antarctic
In the midst of a worsening Cold War, the signing and entering into force of the 1959 Antarc-
tic Treaty was a notable achievement. This treaty established a framework for the demilit-
arization of the Antarctic and the promotion of international cooperation, especially in the
field of science. Article 4, as noted earlier, ensured that no new claims to polar territory were
to be asserted while the treaty was in force. For the chief architect of the treaty, the United
States, this framework was praised for 'containing all the provisions which the US believed
were required for the protection of its national interest and as setting a precedent in the field
of disarmament, prohibition of nuclear explosions, and the law of space'. On ratifying the
treaty, American senators recognized that with the promotion of scientific cooperation, free-
dom of access, and peaceful usages of the Antarctic, there was no immediate need for a ter-
ritorial claim.
Upon the Treaty's entry into force in June 1961, the Antarctic became the world's first
nuclear-free zone, and provided inspiration for further denuclearizing initiatives elsewhere.
Moreover, the treaty placed peaceful cooperation and scientific collaboration as the core
business of the signatories, later to be termed Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (ATCPs).
Governing by consensus is the
sine qua non
of those parties. Together, the treaty and sub-
sequent instruments such as the Convention on the Conservation of Living Resources (entry
into force, 1982) and the Protocol on Environmental Protection (entry into force, 1998) all
make up the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). Science is frequently described as
the
core
activity, and indicative of ongoing cooperation amongst the parties, subject to no restrictions
on location of activity. A constellation of agreements continues to strive to conserve, pre-
serve, and protect the Antarctic terrestrial and marine environments.
These features explain a great deal when it comes to the longevity of the Antarctic Treaty.
In the last few years, a number of events, including a high-profile Antarctic Treaty Summit
hosted by the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, DC, have celebrated the capacity and
willingness of Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties to govern the Antarctic. At the joint ses-
sion of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties Meeting and the Arctic Council in April
2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reminded her audience that:
In 1959, representatives from 12 countries came together in Washington to sign the Antarctic
Treaty, which is sometimes referred to as the first arms control agreement of the Cold War.
Today, 47 nations have signed it. And as a result, Antarctica is one of the few places on earth
