ANTARCTIC TREATY

 

ANTARCTIC TREATY

Why In News:

§  46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and 26th Committee on Environmental Protection (CEP) concluded

§  These were hosted by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.

About:







§  The Antarctic Treaty was signed between 12 countries in Washington on 1st December 1959 for making the Antarctic Continent a demilitarized zone to be preserved for scientific research only.

§  The twelve original signatories are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the UK and the US.

§  It entered into force in 1961 and has since been acceded by many other nations.

§  Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude.

§  Recently, an enormous iceberg 'A-76' has calved from the western side of the Ronne Ice Shelf, lying in the Weddell Sea, in Antarctica.

Members:

§  Currently it has 54 parties. India became a member of this treaty in 1983.

Headquarters:

§  Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Major Provisions:

§  Promoting the freedom of scientific research.

§  Countries can use the continent only for peaceful purposes.

§  Prohibition of military activities, nuclear tests and the disposal of radioactive waste.

§  Neutralising territorial sovereignty, this means a limit was placed on making any new claim or enlargement of an existing claim.

§  It put a freeze on any disputes between claimants over their territories on the continent.

Dispute & Resolution:

§  There have been tensions from time to time. Argentina and the UK, for instance, have overlapping claims to territory on the continent.

§  However, a key reason why the treaty has been able to survive has been its ability to evolve through a number of additional conventions and other legal protocols.

§  These have dealt with the conservation of marine living resources, prohibitions on mining, and the adoption of comprehensive environmental protection mechanisms.

§  As disputes have arisen over the years, many have been addressed through the expansion of the treaty framework with these agreements. This framework is now referred to as the Antarctic Treaty System.

 

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