Another sterile annual ritual? The United Nations and Antarctica 1987
- 1 January 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Polar Record
- Vol. 24 (150) , 207-212
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400009165
Abstract
The UN Secretary-General's third Report of September 1987 provided the background for the fifth annual round of the UN's consideration of the ‘Question of Antarctica’. The First Committee's discussions in November 1987 resulted in the adoption by large majorities of two further UN resolutions in favour of a moratorium on the Antarctic minerals regime negotiations, an enhanced UN role in the operations of the Antarctic Treaty System, and the exclusion of South Africa from Consultative Meetings. On the surface, the session might be dismissed as yet another ‘sterile annual UN ritual’, serving to confirm the international community's lack of consensus about the future management of Antarctica. In reality, the episode, suggesting that the UN/Antarctic relationship may be at the crossroads, offered several points of interest, including increased signs of strain within the Antarctic Treaty System consequent upon the South African issue, and a greater appreciation by the critics of the need to work for change within the framework of the existing Antarctic Treaty regime.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Antarctic Minerals Regime negotiationsPolar Record, 1988
- AntarcticaPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,1987
- The United Nations and Antarctica 1986Polar Record, 1986
- The United Nations' Study on Antarctica, 1984Polar Record, 1985