CSDMUN2009背景材料——环境计划署 南极问题(英文)

simon小刚

Antarctica has no government and belongs to no country. Various countries claim areas of it, but while some have mutually recognized each other's claims, no other countries recognize such claims.
Since 1959, new claims on Antarctica have been suspended and the continent is considered politically neutral. Its status is regulated by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and other related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System. For the purposes of the Treaty System, Antarctica is defined as all land and ice shelves south of 60° S. The treaty was signed by twelve countries, including the Soviet Union (and later Russia), the United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, Australia and the United States. It set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, established freedom of scientific investigation, environmental protection, and banned military activity on that continent.