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Antarctica

 Flag of British Antarctic Territory

Last updated: 02 November 2009

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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

In addition to the 4 research stations maintained by Britain, several other nations (Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria,Czech Republic, Chile, Ecuador, Germany, Republic of Korea, Peru, Poland, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay) maintain stations and bases in the BAT, many on the South Shetland Islands.

The BAT and the Antarctic Treaty System

By the 1950s, five-sixths of the Antarctic continent was claimed by seven States (Britain, Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand and Norway). Most of the British Antarctic Territory itself is counter-claimed by either Chile or Argentina. None of the territorial claims was recognised by non-Claimant States; and, to establish a mechanism that would defuse escalating disputes over sovereignty, Claimant and non-Claimant States negotiated the Antarctic Treaty. This was adopted in 1959 and entered into force in 1961. Its objectives are:

  • to keep Antarctica demilitarised, to establish it as a nuclear-free zone, and to ensure that it is used for peaceful purposes only;
  • to promote international scientific cooperation in Antarctica; and
  • to set aside disputes over territorial sovereignty.

Five separate international agreements have been negotiated which, together with the original Treaty and the suite of Measures, Decisions and Resolutions, provide the framework governing all activities in Antarctica. Collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System, the 5 agreements are:

  • Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (adopted June 1964)
  • Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (adopted December 1972, entered into force March 1978)
  • Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) (adopted May 1980, entered into force April 1982)
  • Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (CRAMRA) (adopted June 1988, but superseded by the Environmental Protocol (see below) and unlikely to enter into force) and
  • Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (adopted October 1991, entered into force January 1998).

By June 2008, 47 States had become Members of the Antarctic Treaty System.

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