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Antarctic Treaty System
International treaties concerning Antarctica / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. It was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War, designating the continent as a scientific preserve, establishing freedom of scientific investigation, and banning military activity; for the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude. Since September 2004, the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, which implements the treaty system, is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[3]
The Antarctic Treaty French: Traité sur l'Antarctique Russian: Договор об Антарктике Spanish: Tratado Antártico | |
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Type | Condominium |
Signed | 1 December 1959[1] |
Location | Washington, D.C., United States |
Effective | 23 June 1961 |
Condition | Ratification of all 12 signatories |
Signatories | 12[2] |
Parties | 57[2] |
Depositary | Federal government of the United States[2] |
Languages | English, French, Russian, and Spanish |
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The main treaty was opened for signature on 1 December 1959, and officially entered into force on 23 June 1961.[4] The original signatories were the 12 countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–58: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[1] These countries had established over 55 Antarctic research stations for the IGY, and the subsequent promulgation of the treaty was seen as a diplomatic expression of the operational and scientific cooperation that had been achieved. As of 2024[update], the treaty has 57 parties.[5]