Editing Antarctic Treaty System (section)

== History ==
[[File:Antarctic political map.png| thumb|left|256px|Map of research stations and territorial claims in Antarctica (2015)]]

===1940s===
After [[World War II]], the U.S. considered establishing a claim in Antarctica. From 26 August 1946, and until the beginning of 1947, it carried out [[Operation Highjump]], the largest military expeditionary force that the United States had ever sent to Antarctica, consisting of 13 ships, 4,700 men, and numerous aerial devices.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |title=Antarctic Treaty System: An Assessment: Proceedings of a Workshop Held at Beardmore South Field Camp, Antarctica, 7–13 January 1985 |date=1986 |publisher=National Academy Press |isbn=0-585-26158-X |location=Washington, D.C. |oclc=45730572}}</ref> Its goals were to train military personnel and to test material in conditions of extreme cold for a hypothetical war in the Antarctic.

On 2 September 1947, the quadrant of Antarctica in which the United States was interested (between 24° W and [[90th meridian west|90° W]]) was included as part of the security zone of the [[Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance]], committing its members to defend it in case of external aggression.

In August 1948, the United States proposed that Antarctica be under the guardianship of the United Nations, as a trust territory administered by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. This idea was rejected by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, and Norway. Before the rejection, on 28 August 1948, the United States proposed to the claimant countries some form of [[internationalization]] of Antarctica, and the United Kingdom supported this. Chile responded by presenting a plan to suspend all Antarctic claims for five to ten years while negotiating a final solution, but this did not find acceptance.

In 1950, the interest of the United States to keep the Soviet Union away from Antarctica was frustrated, when the Soviets informed the claimant states that they would not accept any Antarctic agreement in which they were not represented. The fear that the USSR would react by making a territorial claim, bringing the Cold War to Antarctica, led the United States to make none.<ref name=":0" />

=== International conflicts ===

Various international conflicts motivated the creation of an agreement for the Antarctic.<ref>{{cite book |last=Orrego Vicuna |first=Francisco |title=Antarctic Treaty System: An Assessment: Proceedings of a Workshop Held at Beardmore South Field Camp, Antarctica, 7–13 January 1985 |publisher=National Academy Press |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-309-03640-5 |location=Washington |pages=55 |chapter=Antarctic Conflict and International Cooperation}}</ref>

Some incidents had occurred during the [[Antarctica during World War II|Second World War]], and a new one occurred in [[Hope Bay incident|Hope Bay]] on 1 February 1952, when the Argentine military fired warning shots at a group of Britons. The response of the United Kingdom was to send a warship that landed marines at the scene on 4 February.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1952/feb/20/falkland-islands-dependencies-hope-bay|title=Falkland Islands Dependencies (Hope Bay Incident)|date=20 February 1952 |website=Parliament}}</ref> In 1949, Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom signed a Tripartite Naval Declaration committing not to send warships south of the [[60th parallel south]], which was renewed annually until 1961 when it was deemed unnecessary when the treaty entered into force. This tripartite declaration was signed after the tension generated when Argentina sent a fleet of eight warships to Antarctica in February 1948.<ref>{{cite book |last=Whiteman |first=Marjorie |title=Digest of International Law, Volume 2 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |year=1963 |page=1238 |chapter=Tripartite Naval Declaration}}</ref>

On 17 January 1953, Argentina reopened the Lieutenant Lasala refuge on [[Deception Island]], leaving a sergeant and a corporal in the Argentine Navy. On 15 February, in the incident on Deception Island, 32 royal marines landed from the British frigate [[HMS Snipe (U20)|HMS ''Snipe'']] armed with [[Sten]] machine guns, rifles, and tear gas capturing the two Argentine sailors. The Argentine refuge and a nearby uninhabited Chilean shelter were destroyed, and the Argentine sailors were delivered to a ship from that country on 18 February near [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands|South Georgia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.histarmar.com.ar/HYAMNEWS/HyamNews2004/HY01-04%20Churchill.htm |title=Historia y Arqueología Marítima. Churchill envió una fragata para repeler la "invasión" de las Malvinas por dos soldados Argentinos en 1953. |trans-title=Maritime History and Archaeology. Churchill sent a frigate to repel the "invasion" of the Falklands by two Argentine soldiers in 1953. |language=es}}</ref> A British detachment remained three months on the island while the [[frigate]] patrolled its waters until April.

On 4 May 1955, the United Kingdom filed two lawsuits, against Argentina and Chile respectively, before the [[International Court of Justice]] to declare the invalidity of the claims of the sovereignty of the two countries over Antarctic and sub-Antarctic areas. On 15 July 1955, the Chilean government rejected the jurisdiction of the court in that case, and on 1 August, the Argentine government also did so, so on 16 March 1956, the claims were closed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/26 |website=International Court of Justice |title=Antarctica (United Kingdom v. Argentina)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/27 |website=International Court of Justice |title=Antarctica (United Kingdom v. Chile))}}</ref>

In 1956 and 1958, India tried unsuccessfully to bring the Antarctic issue to the [[United Nations General Assembly]].<ref name=":0" />

=== International Geophysical Year ===
[[File:Antarctica 1957.jpg|thumb|1957 poster of Antarctica IGY projects]]
In 1950, the [[International Council of Scientific Unions]] (ICSU) had discussed the possibility of holding a third [[International Polar Year]]. At the suggestion of the [[World Meteorological Organization]], the idea of the International Polar Year was extended to the entire planet, thus creating the [[International Geophysical Year]] that took place between 1 July 1957, and 31 December 1958. In this event, 66 countries participated. At the ICSU meeting in Stockholm from 9 to 11 September 1957, the creation of a Special Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) was approved, inviting the twelve countries conducting Antarctic investigations to send delegates to integrate the committee, with the purpose of exchanging scientific information among its members regarding Antarctica. The SCAR was later renamed to the Scientific Committee for Research in Antarctica.

Both Argentina and Chile stated that research carried out on the continent during the International Geophysical Year would not give any territorial rights to the participants, and that the facilities that were erected during that year should be dismantled at the end of it. However, in February 1958, the United States proposed that the Antarctic investigations should be extended for another year, and the Soviet Union reported that it would maintain its scientific bases until the studies being carried out had been  completed.

=== Negotiation of the treaty ===
Scientific bases increased international tension concerning Antarctica. The danger of the Cold War spreading to that continent caused the President of the United States, [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], to convene an Antarctic Conference of the twelve countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year, to sign a treaty. In the first phase, representatives of the twelve nations met in Washington, who met in sixty sessions between June 1958 and October 1959 to define a basic negotiating framework. However, no consensus was reached on a preliminary draft. In the second phase, a conference at the highest diplomatic level was held from 15 October to 1 December 1959, when the Treaty was signed.

The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by 12 nations and came into effect in the mid-1960s. The central ideas with full acceptance were the freedom of scientific research in Antarctica and the peaceful use of the continent. There was also a consensus for demilitarization and the maintenance of the status quo.  The treaty prohibits nuclear testing, military operations, economic exploitation, and territorial claims in Antarctica. It is monitored through on-site inspections. The only permanent structures allowed are scientific research stations. The original signatory countries hold voting rights on Antarctic governance, with seven of them claiming portions of the continent and the remaining five being non-claimants. Other nations have joined as consultative members by conducting significant research in Antarctica. Non-consultative parties can also adhere to the treaty. In 1991–1992, the treaty was renegotiated by 33 nations, with the main change being the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection, which prohibited mining and oil exploration for 50 years.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1177/13540661211033889 | title=An international hierarchy of science: Conquest, cooperation, and the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System | date=2021 | last1=Yao | first1=Joanne | journal=European Journal of International Relations | volume=27 | issue=4 | pages=995–1019 | s2cid=238807417 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

The positions of the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand coincided in the establishment of an international administration for Antarctica, proposing that it should be within the framework of the United Nations. Australia and the United Kingdom expressed the need for inspections by observers, and the British also proposed the use of military personnel for logistical functions. Argentina proposed that all atomic explosions be banned in Antarctica, which caused a crisis that lasted until the last day of the conference, since the United States, along with other countries, intended to ban only those that were made without prior notice and without prior consultation. The support of the USSR and Chile for the Argentine proposal finally caused the United States to retract its opposition.

The signing of the treaty was the first arms control agreement that occurred in the framework of the Cold War, and the participating countries managed to avoid the internationalization of Antarctic [[sovereignty]].

Starting from the year 2048, any of the consultative parties to the treaty may request the revision of the treaty and its entire normative system, with the approval of a [[three-quarters majority]] of consultative parties needed for the adoption of any changes.<ref>{{cite web |title=La Antártica después del año 2048 |url=https://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/opinion/2022/01/20/la-antartica-despues-del-ano-2048/ |publisher=El Mostrador |access-date=29 March 2023 |language=es |date=20 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=La Antártica es urgente |url=https://revistamarina.cl/es/articulo/la-antartica-es-urgente |publisher=Revista Marina |access-date=29 March 2023 |language=es |date=24 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=21 January 2021 |title=Por qué es importante la Antártida para Uruguay con miras al 2048 |url=https://www.elobservador.com.uy/nota/por-que-es-importante-la-antartida-para-uruguay-con-miras-al-2048-2021165057 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106101456/https://www.elobservador.com.uy/nota/por-que-es-importante-la-antartida-para-uruguay-con-miras-al-2048-2021165057 |archive-date=6 January 2021 |access-date=29 March 2023 |publisher=El Observador |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=In 30 years the Antarctic Treaty becomes modifiable, and the fate of a continent could hang in the balance |url=https://theconversation.com/in-30-years-the-antarctic-treaty-becomes-modifiable-and-the-fate-of-a-continent-could-hang-in-the-balance-98654 |publisher=The Conversation |access-date=29 March 2023 |date=12 July 2018}}</ref>