The Antarctic: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) by Dodds Klaus

Author:Dodds, Klaus [Dodds, Klaus]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2012-07-25T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

India and the ‘question of Antarctica’

We are not challenging anybody’s rights there [in Antarctica]. But it has become important that the matter be considered by the United Nations. The fact that Antarctica contains many very important minerals – especially atomic energy minerals – is one reason why this area is attractive to various countries. We thought it would be desirable to have a discussion about this in the United Nations.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, 1958

* * *

The articles within the treaty outline the following commitments: the Antarctic should be used for exclusively peaceful purposes with no scope for military activities; there should be an unfettered freedom to conduct scientific research throughout the Antarctic; international scientific cooperation requires parties share their information with one another; the treaty parties agree to put to one side their disagreements over sovereignty and that by cooperating with one another it is recognized that no new and or enlarged claims can be made to the region; nuclear weapons testing, storage, and dumping is banned; an inspection system should be created to ensure compliance; and measures are put in place to ensure that the parties can resolve disputes, and meet again to consider supplementary additions to the treaty and associated and scientific understanding

The linchpin of the treaty was Article 4. Without it, everything else would have collapsed in a proverbial heap. Article 4 stipulated the following:

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.