Department of State Handbook of the Antarctic Treaty System

The U.S. Department of State has released and posted on the Department’s Web site the Ninth Edition of the Handbook of the Antarctic Treaty System. The Handbook is available at www.state.gov/g/oes/rls/rpts/ant/. Edited by Dr. Harlan K. Cohen of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, and funded by the National Science Foundation, this 1,000-page compilation was last updated in 1994.

The primary purpose of the Antarctic Treaty is to ensure “in the interests of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord.” The Antarctic Treaty System is the whole complex of arrangements made for the purpose of coordinating relations among states with respect to Antarctica.

The Handbook contains all the relevant agreements, including the Antarctic Treaty itself, the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, as well as the many recommendations, measures, decisions, and resolutions adopted by the meetings of the consultative parties to the Treaty.

This new edition of the Handbook has rearranged and simplified earlier editions. The Handbook will undoubtedly prove to be a useful tool both for those familiar with the Antarctic Treaty System and for newcomers who want to learn about Antarctica and the Treaty System.