The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 established the Antarctic Continent as a global commons and zone of peace by means of disarmament and freedom of use.
Overall provisions of the Antarctic Treaty are as follows....
Many have said that the treaty follows lines of avoidance rather than setting actual rules to be followed, especially in regards to pre existing land claims.
Overall provisions of the Antarctic Treaty are as follows....
- a pledge for freedom of scientific use of the continent
- requirement of open sharing of scientific findings
- use should be under peaceful purpose
- ban on military use
- no nuclear testing
- decisions for the region will be made by consensus between signatories
- "activities criterion": involvement in decisions is contingent upon conduct of actual research
- general protocol forbids exploitation of natural resources
Many have said that the treaty follows lines of avoidance rather than setting actual rules to be followed, especially in regards to pre existing land claims.
The figure to the left outlines the pre-existing territorial claims of Antarctica by a variety of countries. Though not visually represented, the United States maintains a overlapping territorial claim, so it is interesting to note that they and most other signatory countries do not recognize these other claims. When the treaty was released, claims were freezed from that point forward; while countries were able to retain them, the land was expected to be opened to any participatory country. Nevertheless, the United States asserts its leadership position by keeping a year round presence at the southern pole.
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https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1996/nstc96rp/chii.htm