The Antarctic Treaty System

Book excerpt: Because negotiations for the Antarctic Treaty were kept secret, the issues that shaped the treaty system have been poorly understood. Dr. Myhre breaks new ground by examining the records of the first Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and evaluating the events of the Special Consultative Meetings on Antarctic Mineral Resources. Introducing the reader to Antarctic politics, Dr. Myhre examines legal and political problems arising from some nations' claims to sovereignty in Antarctica, reviews initial efforts to create an international administration for the region, and studies in detail the terms of the treaty and the rules of procedure for the consultative meetings. Turning to the diplomatic events that molded the treaty system, he concentrates on the issues that emerged in the 1960s: conservation, the role of Meetings of Experts, the position of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research within the treaty system, the obligations of acceding states to uphold previous agreements, and the Consultative Powers' failure to establish an Antarctic Secretariat. Finally, he reviews the two main challenges to the system's survival—mineral extraction and Third World opposition to the present structure.