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Antarctica: Antarctic Treaty |
Antarctic
Treaty System
The
Antarctic region is governed by a system known as the Antarctic
Treaty system; the system includes: 1. the Antarctic Treaty,
signed on 1 Dec. 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961,
which establishes the legal framework for the management of
Antarctica, 2. Measures, Decisions, and Resolutions adopted
at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, 3. The Convention
for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (1972), 4. The Convention
for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1980),
and 5. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic
Treaty (1991); the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings operate
by consensus (not by vote) of all consultative parties at annual
Treaty meetings; by Jan. 2022, there were 54 treaty member nations:
29 consultative and 25 non-consultative; consultative (decision-making)
members include the seven nations that claim (see map)
portions of Antarctica as national territory (some claims overlap)
and 22 non-claimant nations; the US and Russia have reserved
the right to make claims; the US does not recognise the claims
of others; Antarctica is administered through meetings of the
consultative member nations; measures adopted at these meetings
are carried out by these member nations (with respect to their
own nationals and operations) in accordance with their own national
laws. |
Original
Signatories¹ |
Country
|
Date
of Effect |
Consultative
Status |
Argentina |
23
June 1961 |
23
June 1961 |
Australia |
23 June 1961 |
23
June 1961 |
Belgium |
23 June 1961 |
23 June 1961 |
Chile |
23 June 1961 |
23 June 1961 |
France |
23 June 1961 |
23 June 1961 |
Japan |
23 June 1961 |
23 June 1961 |
New
Zealand |
23 June 1961 |
23 June 1961 |
Norway |
23 June 1961 |
23 June 1961 |
Russia |
23 June 1961 [13 Jan. 1992] |
|
South
Africa |
23 June 1961 |
23 June 1961 |
Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics |
23 June 1961–13 Jan. 1992 |
23 June 1961 |
United
Kingdom |
23 June 1961 |
23 June 1961 |
United
States of America |
23 June 1961 |
23 June 1961 |
Consultative
Nations
|
Country
|
Date
of Effect |
Consultative
Status |
Brazil |
16 May 1975 |
27
Sept. 1983 |
Bulgaria |
11 Sept. 1978 |
5 June 1998 |
China |
8 June 1983 |
7
Oct. 1985 |
Czechoslovakia |
14 June 1962–31 Dec. 1992 |
|
Czech
Republic |
1 Jan 1993 |
1 Apr. 2014 |
East
Germany |
19
Nov. 1974–3 Oct. 1990 |
|
Ecuador |
15 Sept. 1987 |
19 Nov. 1990 |
Finland |
15 May 1984 |
20 Oct. 1989 |
Germany
|
5
Feb. 1979 |
3
Mar. 1981 |
India |
19 Aug. 1983 |
12 Sept. 1983 |
Italy |
18 Mar. 1981 |
5 Oct. 1987 |
Netherlands |
30
Mar 1967 |
19
Nov. 1990 |
Peru |
10 Apr. 1981 |
9 Oct. 1989 |
Poland |
23 June 1961 |
29
July 1977 |
South
Korea |
28 Nov. 1986 |
9 Oct. 1989 |
Spain |
31 Mar. 1982 |
21
Sept. 1988 |
Sweden |
24 Apr. 1984 |
21
Sept. 1988 |
Ukraine |
28 Oct. 1992 |
4 June 2004 |
Uruguay |
11 Jan. 1980 |
7 Oct. 1985 |
Non-consultative
Nations
|
Country
|
Date
of Effect |
Environment
Protocol |
Austria |
25 Aug. 1987 |
26
Aug. 2021 |
Belarus |
27 Dec. 2006 |
15
Aug. 2008 |
Canada |
4 May 1988 |
13
Dec. 2003 |
Colombia |
31 Jan. 1989 |
14 Mar. 2020 |
Costa
Rica |
11 Aug. 2022 |
|
Cuba
|
16
Aug. 1984 |
|
Denmark |
20 May 1965 |
|
Estonia |
17 May 2001 |
|
Greece
|
8
Jan. 1987 |
14
Jan. 1998 |
Guatemala |
31 July 1991 |
|
Hungary |
27 Jan. 1984 |
|
Iceland |
13
Oct. 2015 |
|
Kazakhstan |
27 Jan. 2015 |
|
Malaysia |
31 Oct. 2011 |
14
Sep. 2016 |
Monaco
|
31
May 2008 |
31
July 2009 |
Mongolia |
23 Mar. 2015 |
|
North
Korea |
21 Jan. 1987 |
|
Pakistan |
1 Mar. 2012 |
31
Mar. 2012 |
Papua
New Guinea |
16
Mar. 1981 |
|
Portugal |
29 Jan. 2010 |
10
Oct. 2014 |
Romania |
15 Sept. 1971 |
5
Mar. 2003 |
Slovakia |
1
Jan. 1993 |
|
Slovenia |
22 Apr. 2019 |
|
Switzerland |
15 Nov. 1990 |
1
June 2017 |
Turkey |
24
Jan. 1996 |
27
Oct. 2017 |
Venezuela |
24 Mar. 1999 |
31
Aug 2014 |
Antarctic Treaty
Secretariat |
Executive
Secretaries |
Johannes
Huber
|
2004-09
|
•••• |
Manfred
Reinke
|
2009-17
|
•••• |
Albert
Lluberas
|
2017-pres
|
•••• |
|
1.
One of the twelve countries active in the Antarctica during
the International Geophysical Year of 1957–58, and who
attended negotiations for the Treaty in 1959.000 |
Sources
Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty, 2022. |
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