The Antarctic Treaty

Published September 2003

Signed in 1956 by 12 nations, it stipulates that no one will own Antarctica and that the continent will not be used for military purposes nor will its mineral resources be exploited. Notwithstanding that agreement, seven of the signing nations (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Norway) have all made territorial claims to pie-shaped wedges of the continent defined by longitudinal lines culminating at the South Pole. Other than the claimant states, most nations, including the United States, do not recognize Antarctic claims. The Madrid Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty, passed in 1991, established environmental protections for the sustainable development of Antarctica.