entered into force on 23 June 1961,
establishes the legal framework for the management of Antarctica;
the 26th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting was held in Madrid,
Spain in June 2003; at these periodic meetings, decisions are made
by consensus (not by vote) of all consultative member nations; at
the end of 2003, there were 45 treaty member nations: 27
consultative and 18 non-consultative; consultative (decision-making)
members include the seven nations that claim portions of Antarctica
as national territory (some claims overlap) and 20 non-claimant
nations; the US and Russia have reserved the right to make claims;
the US does not recognize the claims of others; Antarctica is
administered through meetings of the consultative member nations;
decisions from these meetings are carried out by these member
nations (with respect to their own nationals and operations) in
accordance with their own national laws; the year in parentheses
indicates when an acceding nation was accepted as a consultative
member, while no date indicates the country was an original 1959
treaty signatory; claimant nations are - Argentina, Australia,
Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. Nonclaimant
consultative nations are - Belgium, Brazil (1983), Bulgaria (1998)
China (1985), Ecuador (1990), Finland (1989), Germany (1981), India
(1983), Italy (1987), Japan, South Korea (1989), Netherlands (1990),
Peru (1989), Poland (1977), Russia, South Africa, Spain (1988),
Sweden (1988), Uruguay (1985), and the US; non-consultative members,
with year of accession in parentheses, are - Austria (1987), Canada
(1988), Colombia (1989), Cuba (1984), Czech Republic (1993), Denmark
(1965), Estonia (2001), Greece (1987), Guatemala (1991), Hungary
(1984), North Korea (1987), Papua New Guinea (1981), Romania (1971),
Slovakia (1993), Switzerland (1990), Turkey (1995), Ukraine (1992),
and Venezuela (1999); Article 1 - area to be used for peaceful
purposes only; military activity, such as weapons testing, is
prohibited, but military personnel and equipment may be used for
scientific research or any other peaceful purpose; Article 2 -
freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue;
Article 3 - free exchange of information and personnel, cooperation
with the UN and other international agencies; Article 4 - does not
recognize, dispute, or establish territorial claims and no ne