The Antarctic Treaty
The Antarctic Treaty was made on 1 December 1959 and came into force
23 June 1961.
All Signatories to the Antarctic Treaty
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties
Non-Consultative Parties
The Governments of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, the French
Republic, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Union of South Africa, the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America,
Recognizing that it is in the interest of all mankind that
Antarctica shall continue for ever to be used exclusively for peaceful
purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international
discord;
Acknowledging the substantial contributions to scientific
knowledge resulting from international cooperation in scientific
investigation in Antarctica;
Convinced that the establishment of a firm foundation for the
continuation and development of such cooperation on the basis of
freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica as applied during
the International Geophysical Year accords with the interests of
science and the progress of all mankind;
Convinced also that a treaty ensuring the use of Antarctica
for peaceful purposes only and the continuance of international
harmony in Antarctica will further the purposes and principles
embodied in the Charter of the United Nations;
Have agreed as follows:
1. Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only. There shall be
prohibited, inter alia, any measure of a military nature, such as the
establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of
military manoeuvres, as well as the testing of any type of weapon.
2. The present Treaty shall not prevent the use of military personnel or
equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purpose.
Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and cooperation toward that
end, as applied during the International Geophysical Year, shall continue,
subject to the provisions of the present Treaty.
1. In order to promote international cooperation in scientific investigation in
Antarctica, as provided for in Article II of the present Treaty, the
Contracting Parties agree that, to the greatest extent feasible and
practicable:
a. information regarding plans for scientific programs in Antarctica shall be
exchanged to permit maximum economy of and efficiency of operations;
b. scientific personnel shall be exchanged in Antarctica between expeditions
and stations;
c. scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and
made freely available.
- Nothing contained in the present Treaty shall be interpreted as:
- a renunciation by any Contracting Party of previously asserted rights of or claims to
territorial sovereignty in Antarctica;
- a renunciation or diminution by any Contracting Party of any basis of claim to
territorial sovereignty in Antarctica which it may have whether as a result of its
activities or those of its nationals in Antarctica, or otherwise;
- prejudicing the position of any Contracting Party as regards its recognition or
non-recognition of any other State's rights of or claim or basis of claim to territorial
sovereignty in Antarctica.
- No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute
a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in
Antarctica or create any rights of sovereignty in Antarctica. No new claim, or enlargement
of an existing claim, to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica shall be asserted while the
present Treaty is in force.
1. Any nuclear explosions in Antarctica and the disposal there of radioactive waste
material shall be prohibited. 2. In the event of the conclusion of international
agreements concerning the use of nuclear energy, including nuclear explosions and the
disposal of radioactive waste material, to which all of the Contracting Parties whose
representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX
are parties, the rules established under such agreements shall apply in Antarctica.
The provisions of the present Treaty shall apply to the area south of 60deg. South
Latitude, including all ice shelves, but nothing in the present Treaty shall prejudice or
in any way affect the rights, or the exercise of the rights, of any State under
international law with regard to the high seas within that area.
1. In order to promote the objectives and ensure the observance of the provisions of
the present Treaty, each Contracting Party whose representatives are entitled to
participate in the meetings referred to in Article IX of the Treaty shall have the right
to designate observers to carry out any inspection provided for by the present Article.
Observers shall be nationals of the Contracting Parties which designate them. The names of
observers shall be communicated to every other Contracting Party having the right to
designate observers, and like notice shall be given of the termination of their
appointment. 2. Each observer designated in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1
of this Article shall have complete freedom of access at any time to any or all areas of
Antarctica. 3. All areas of Antarctica, including all stations, installations and
equipment within those areas, and all ships and aircraft at points of discharging or
embarking cargoes or personnel in Antarctica, shall be open at all times to inspection by
any observers designated in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article. 4. Aerial
observation may be carried out at any time over any or all areas of Antarctica by any of
the Contracting Parties having the right to designate observers. 5. Each Contracting Party
shall, at the time when the present Treaty enters into force for it, inform the other
Contracting Parties, and thereafter shall give them notice in advance, of
- all expeditions to and within Antarctica, on the part of its ships or nationals, and all
expeditions to Antarctica organized in or proceeding from its territory;
- all stations in Antarctica occupied by its nationals; and
- any military personnel or equipment intended to be introduced by it into Antarctica
subject to the conditions prescribed in paragraph 2 of Article I of the present Treaty.
1. In order to facilitate the exercise of their functions under the present Treaty, and
without prejudice to the respective positions of the Contracting Parties relating to
jurisdiction over all other persons in Antarctica, observers designated under paragraph 1
of Article VII and scientific personnel exchanged under sub-paragraph 1(b) of Article III
of the Treaty, and members of the staffs accompanying any such persons, shall be subject
only to the jurisdiction of the Contracting Party of which they are nationals in respect
of all acts or omissions occurring while they are in Antarctica for the purpose of
exercising their functions. 2. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this
Article, and pending the adoption of measures in pursuance of subparagraph 1(e) of Article
IX, the Contracting Parties concerned in any case of dispute with regard to the exercise
of jurisdiction in Antarctica shall immediately consult together with a view to reaching a
mutually acceptable solution.
1. Representatives of the Contracting Parties named in the preamble to the present
Treaty shall meet at the City of Canberra within two months after the date of entry into
force of the Treaty, and thereafter at suitable intervals and places, for the purpose of
exchanging information, consulting together on matters of common interest pertaining to
Antarctica, and formulating and considering, and recommending to their Governments,
measures in furtherance of the principles and objectives of the Treaty, including measures
regarding:
- use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes only;
- facilitation of scientific research in Antarctica;
- facilitation of international scientific cooperation in Antarctica;
- facilitation of the exercise of the rights of inspection provided for in Article VII of
the Treaty;
- questions relating to the exercise of jurisdiction in Antarctica;
- preservation and conservation of living resources in Antarctica.
2. Each Contracting Party which has become a party to the present Treaty by accession
under Article XIII shall be entitled to appoint representatives to participate in the
meetings referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article, during such times as that
Contracting Party demonstrates its interest in Antarctica by conducting substantial
research activity there, such as the establishment of a scientific station or the despatch
of a scientific expedition. 3. Reports from the observers referred to in Article VII of
the present Treaty shall be transmitted to the representatives of the Contracting Parties
participating in the meetings referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article. 4. The
measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall become effective when approved
by all the Contracting Parties whose representatives were entitled to participate in the
meetings held to consider those measures. 5. Any or all of the rights established in the
present Treaty may be exercised as from the date of entry into force of the Treaty whether
or not any measures facilitating the exercise of such rights have been proposed,
considered or approved as provided in this Article.
Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes to exert appropriate efforts, consistent
with the Charter of the United Nations, to the end that no one engages in any activity in
Antarctica contrary to the principles or purposes of the present Treaty.
1. If any dispute arises between two or more of the Contracting Parties concerning the
interpretation or application of the present Treaty, those Contracting Parties shall
consult among themselves with a view to having the dispute resolved by negotiation,
inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement or other peaceful means
of their own choice. 2. Any dispute of this character not so resolved shall, with the
consent, in each case, of all parties to the dispute, be referred to the International
Court of Justice for settlement; but failure to reach agreement on reference to the
International Court shall not absolve parties to the dispute from the responsibility of
continuing to seek to resolve it by any of the various peaceful means referred to in
paragraph 1 of this Article.
1.
- The present Treaty may be modified or amended at any time by unanimous agreement of the
Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings
provided for under Article IX. Any such modification or amendment shall enter into force
when the depositary Government has received notice from all such Contracting Parties that
they have ratified it.
- Such modification or amendment shall thereafter enter into force as to any other
Contracting Party when notice of ratification by it has been received by the depositary
Government. Any such Contracting Party from which no notice of ratification is received
within a period of two years from the date of entry into force of the modification or
amendment in accordance with the provision of subparagraph 1(a) of this Article shall be
deemed to have withdrawn from the present Treaty on the date of the expiration of such
period.
2.
- If after the expiration of thirty years from the date of entry into force of the present
Treaty, any of the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate
in the meetings provided for under Article IX so requests by a communication addressed to
the depositary Government, a Conference of all the Contracting Parties shall be held as
soon as practicable to review the operation of the Treaty.
- Any modification or amendment to the present Treaty which is approved at such a
Conference by a majority of the Contracting Parties there represented, including a
majority of those whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings
provided for under Article IX, shall be communicated by the depositary Government to all
Contracting Parties immediately after the termination of the Conference and shall enter
into force in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of the present Article
- If any such modification or amendment has not entered into force in accordance with the
provisions of subparagraph 1(a) of this Article within a period of two years after the
date of its communication to all the Contracting Parties,any Contracting Party may at any
time after the expiration of that period give notice to the depositary Government of its
withdrawal from the present Treaty; and such withdrawal shall take effect two years after
the receipt of the notice by the depositary Government.
1. The present Treaty shall be subject to ratification by the signatory States. It
shall be open for accession by any State which is a Member of the United Nations, or by
any other State which may be invited to accede to the Treaty with the consent of all the
Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings
provided for under Article IX of the Treaty. 2. Ratification of or accession to the
present Treaty shall be effected by each State in accordance with its constitutional
processes. 3. Instruments of ratification and instruments of accession shall be deposited
with the Government of the United States of America, hereby designated as the depositary
Government. 4. The depositary Government shall inform all signatory and acceding States of
the date of each deposit of an instrument of ratification or accession, and the date of
entry into force of the Treaty and of any modification or amendment thereto. 5. Upon the
deposit of instruments of ratification by all the signatory States, the present Treaty
shall enter into force for those States and for States which have deposited instruments of
accession. Thereafter the Treaty shall enter into force for any acceding State upon the
deposit of its instruments of accession. 6. The present Treaty shall be registered by the
depositary Government pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
The present Treaty, done in the English, French, Russian and Spanish languages, each
version being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of
the United States of America, which shall transmit duly certified copies thereof to the
Governments of the signatory and acceding States.
(138) Delegations wished to mark the significance of 30 years of cooperation in the
Antarctic under the Antarctic Treaty and the significant achievements under the Antarctic
Treaty System. For this purpose, they considered a proposal submitted by Australia (XVI
ATCM/WP 47/REV.1) and adopted a Declaration commemorating the 30th anniversary of the
entry into force of the Antarctic Treaty (Part III of this report). They requested the
host Government to forward the Declaration to the Secretary General of the United Nations
and recommended that the Governments of all Contracting parties distribute the Declaration
to interested organisations and persons in their own countries.
The Representatives of the Contracting Parties present in Bonn for the XVIth Antarctic
Treaty Consultative Meeting: Recalling the Antarctic Treaty, done in Washington on
1 December 1959 and which entered into force on 23 June 1961; Reaffirming the
objective of the Treaty to ensure, in the interest of all mankind, that Antarctica shall
continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the
scene or object of international discord; Noting with pleasure the continuing
growth in the number of states acceding to the Treaty; Conscious of the measures
adopted pursuant to Article IX of the Treaty and the associated and separate conventions
regulating their activities in Antarctica; Welcoming the recent adoption in Madrid
of the protocol on environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty which designates
Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science; and Convinced of the
continued effectiveness of the Antarctic Treaty for cooperation in Antarctica; Declare that
in the interests of all mankind Antarctic shall continue to be used exclusively for
peaceful purposes and, in this regard, dedicate themselves to enhancing further their
record of cooperation in a decade of international Antarctic scientific cooperation, 1991
to 2000, and record their achievements over the first thirty years of the Antarctic Treaty
as set out in the Annex hereto.
The Antarctic Treaty has for thirty years united countries active in Antarctica in a
uniquely successful agreement for the peaceful use of a continent. Scientific research
conducted by the Treaty Parties, and cooperation between them, have signalled to the world
that nations can work together for their mutual benefit and for the benefit of
international peace and cooperation. Antarctica is the largest unspoiled continent on
Earth and the Treaty parties have committed themselves to its study and to protecting its
unique environment. The Antarctic Treaty provides an example to the world of how nations
can successfully work together to preserve a major part of this planet, for the benefit of
all mankind, as a zone of peace, where the environment is protected and science is
pre-eminent.
The Antarctic Treaty was adopted by twelve governments in 1959 at a time when other
parts of the world were subject to international tensions. The governments of Argentina,
Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet
Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, which had conducted scientific research
in the Antarctic during the International Geophysical Year, were convinced that the unique
opportunities that the Antarctic presented for science should not be jeopardised by
disputes between them. The Treaty, which entered into force on 23 June 1961, ensures that
in the interests of all mankind Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively
for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord.
The Antarctic Treaty contains far-sighted means to achieve its objectives. It prohibits
measures of a military nature and prohibits nuclear explosions and the disposal of
radioactive wastes. The Treaty guarantees freedom of scientific research and promotes
international scientific cooperation. Article IV of the Treaty ensures that differing
positions regarding claims to territorial sovereignty do not prevent Parties to the Treaty
cooperating in the pursuit of the Treaty's objectives. It provides for exchange of
detailed information about activities in Antarctica and allows observers complete freedom
of access to all areas of Antarctica to ensure that the provisions of the Treaty are
respected by Parties to it. The Treaty has, through these means, been outstandingly
successful in achieving its objectives. The strength of the Antarctic Treaty continues to
grow and parties to the Treaty now represent 70% of the world's population. Following
their accession to the Treaty, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, the
Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay have joined
the original signatories as Consultative Parties. The Consultative Parties have welcomed
the accession to the Treaty of Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia,
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Papua New
Guinea, Romania and Switzerland. In accordance with Article IX of the Treaty
representatives of the Parties meet regularly to exchange information and consult together
on matters of common interest and to formulate and recommend to their governments measures
in furtherance of the objectives of the Treaty. In 1964 the Parties adopted the Agreed
Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora. Two separate conventions, the
Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals and the Convention on the Conservation
of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, have subsequently entered into force.
On 4 October 1991 the Parties adopted in Madrid the Protocol on Environmental
Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. The Protocol, which is an integral part of the
Antarctic Treaty, designates Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science.
It establishes a comprehensive legally binding regime for ensuring that activities that
parties undertake in Antarctica are consistent with protection of the Antarctic
environment and its dependent and associated ecosystems. Thirty-one Contracting Parties to
the Antarctic Treaty signed the Protocol on the date of its adoption, and have committed
themselves to taking the necessary steps to achieve the earliest possible entry into force
of the Protocol. In the meantime, parties will ensure that as far as possible, and
consistent with their legal and constitutional processes, the provisions of the Protocol
and its Annexes are applied to their activities in Antarctica. Adoption of the Protocol in
1991 is a fitting tribute to the thirtieth anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty and signals
the commitment of Parties to the future strength of the Treaty.
The Antarctic Treaty Parties are fully committed to scientific research in Antarctica
which has been effectively coordinated by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
since the 1950s. Parties have long recognised the fundamental role that Antarctica plays
in understanding global environmental processes and the unique opportunity it provides for
research. Antarctica provides an outstanding opportunity for the free conduct of science
for the benefit of all mankind. It is a a pristine laboratory, of world-wide significance,
which has enabled research to detect and monitor global environmental phenomena such as
the depletion of atmospheric ozone, global warming and sea level changes. Antarctic
meteorological research has provided data essential to forecasting in the Southern
Hemisphere. Glaciological research provides important information about the heat exchange
budget and Antarctica's influence on weather and climate. Geological and geophysical
research in Antarctica provides new insights into global geological history and the
formation of continents. The Earth's geomagnetic field makes Antarctica particularly well
suited to the study of solar-terrestrial interactions and cosmic rays which travel from
outside our galaxy. The extreme environment of the Antarctic provides unique opportunities
to study the specialised adaptations of organisms with their environment, and biological
research is providing data essential to informed decision-making about marine living
resources. Human biology and medicine provide information on the physiological adaptation
of man to extreme climates and isolation. The Treaty Parties have ensured that the results
of these important research efforts are freely available to all mankind.
The Antarctic Treaty Parties are proud of their achievements over the last thirty years
and the example of peaceful cooperation that the Treaty provides to the rest of the world.
The determination of Parties to maintain and strengthen the Treaty and to protect
Antarctica's environmental and scientific values is convincingly demonstrated in their
adoption of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and their
decision to designate Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science.
The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by 12 states, and
entered into force for those states on 23 June 1961. Below are listed in chronological
order the dates of ratification of the Treaty by the original signatories, the dates of
accession or succession by other states, and the dates upon which acceding states became
Consultative Parties. OS = Original Signatory CP = Consultative party: AS = Acceding
State. State Date Status Date on which Acceding State became Consultative Party 1 United
Kingdom 31 May 1960 OS/CP 2 South Africa 21 Jun 1960 OS/CP 3 Belgium 26 Jul 1960 OS/CP 4
Japan 4 Aug 1960 OS/CP 5 United States of America 18 Aug 1960 OS/CP 6 Norway 24 Aug 1960
OS/CP 7 France 16 Sep 1960 OS/CP 8 New Zealand 1 Nov 1960 OS/CP 9 Russia12 Nov
1960 OS/CP 10 Poland 8 Jun 1961 AS/CP 29 Jul 1977 11 Argentina 23 Jun 1961 OS/CP 12
Australia 23 Jun 1961 OS/CP 13 Chile 23 Jun 1961 OS/CP 14 Czech Republic214 Jun
1962 AS 15 Slovak Republic214 Jun 1952 AS 16 Denmark 20 May 1965 AS 17
Netherlands 30 Mar 1967 AS/CP 19 Nov 1990 18 Romania 15 Sep 1971 AS German Democratic
Republic319 Nov 1974 AS/CP 5 Oct 1987 19 Brazil 16 May 1975 AS/CP 12 Sep 1983
20 Bulgaria 11 Sep 1978 AS 21 Germany, Federal Republic of 5 Feb 1979 AS/CP 3 Mar 1981 22
Uruguay 11 Jan 1980 AS/CP 7 Oct 1985 23 Papua New Guinea416 Mar 1981 AS 24
Italy 18 Mar 1981 AS/CP 5 Oct 1987 25 Peru 10 Apr 1981 AS/CP 9 Oct 1989 26 Spain 31 Mar
1982 AS/CP 21 Sep 1928 27 China, People's Republic of 8 Jun 1983 AS/CP 7 Oct 198P 28 India
19 Aug 1983 AS/CP 12 Sep 1983 29 Hungary 27 Jan 1984 AS 30 Sweden 24 Apr 1984 AS/CP 21 Sep
1988 31 Finland 15 May 1984 AS/CP 9 Oct 1989 32 Cuba 16 Aug 1984 AS 33 Republic of Korea
28 Nov 1986 AS/CP 9 Oct 1989 34 Greece 8 Jan 1987 AS 35 Democratic People's Republic of
Korea 21 Jan 1987 AS 36 Austria 25 Aug 1987 AS 37 Ecuador 15 Sep 1987 AS/CP 19 Nov 1990 38
Canada 4 May 1988 AS 39 Colombia 31 Jan 1989 AS 40 Switzerland 15 Nov 1990 AS 41 Guatemala
31 July 1991 AS 42 Ukraine 28 Oct 1992 AS Notes: 1. Known as the Soviet Union until
December 1990. 2. Succeeded to the Treaty as part of Czechoslovakia which separated into
two republics on 1 January 1993. 3. Became united with Federal Republic of Germany on 3
October 1990. 4. Succeeded to the Treaty after independence from Australia.