353 



An additional factor was that scientists were not personally responsi- 

 ble for protecting their respective national interests in the area, since 

 such interests were not at stake in the IGY. 



It was clear to all nations involved that much could be gained if the 

 scientific work begun during the IGY could be continued thereafter. 

 On May 2, 1958, the United States proposed to other participants 

 that all should join "in a treaty designed to preserve the continent 

 as an international laboratory for scientific research and insure that 

 it be used only for peaceful purposes." 225 All accepted, but preliminary 

 talks in Washington were largely stalled by Soviet opposition to 

 existing Antarctic claims of other nations, and by Chilean and Argen- 

 tine reluctance to agree to international control. However, the ad- 

 visability of maintaining the Antarctic free for the kinds of scientific 

 observations and studies begun during the IGY ultimately prevailed. 

 A formal treaty conference was opened on October 15, 1959, and the 

 treaty was signed on December 1, 1959. On August 4, 1960, Japan 

 became the first nation to ratify the treaty, at that time considered 

 "unique in diplomatic history." 226 U.S. ratification followed on Au- 

 gust 18, 1960, and the treaty entered into force for the United States 

 on June 23, 1961. Major provisions of the treaty are as follows: 



Article 1. Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only. All measures of a 

 military nature, including weapons testing, are prohibited. 



Article 2. Freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue. 



Article 3. Scientific plans, personnel, observations, and results shall be freely 

 exchanged. 



Article 4. Signatories do not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial claims. 



Article 5. Nuclear explosions and the disposal of radioactive wastes in the area 

 are prohibited. 



Article 6. All land and ice -masses below 60 degrees south latitude are included, 

 but international law with regard to the high seas shall prevail. 



Article 7. Observers from treaty nations have the right of free access to any 

 area and may inspect all stations, installations, and equipment 

 within those areas. Aerial observations are permitted, and each 

 signatory must provide advance notice of its activities within the 

 area. 227 



THE TEST BAN TREATY 



The spirit of international cooperation and good will resulting 

 from the IGY, and the communication channels thereby opened 

 up among nations, may have played an appreciable part in negoti- 

 ations which led to the Test Ban Treaty. 228 It would be difficult to 

 overestimate the role of communications in international affairs, 

 especially since technical talks appear to have become an accepted 

 approach to difficult international problems. Lloyd Berkner, in 

 addressing the Second United Nations International Conference on 

 the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, in Geneva, had emphasized 

 the value of the experience gained during the IGY. Sullivan pointed 



224 Sullivan, "The IGY," p. 325. Participating nations, in addition to the United States, we're: Argentina, 

 Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Soviet Union, the Union of South. 

 Africa, and the United Kingdom. 



229 Neal Stanford. "Antarctica- Where Territorial Claims Are Barred," The Christian Science Monitor, 

 Jan. 9, 1971, p. 5. 



>st Summarized from: Department of State, Treaties and Other International Acts Series, No. 4780 

 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1961), 36 pages. The Antarctic Treaty, in banning nuclear 

 explosions from the Antarctic, established a precedent for what was to become a steadily expanding con- 

 cept of "nuclear free zones" throughout the world. One such proposal would have progressively moved the 

 area covered by the Antarctic Treaty to further latitudes. Other proposals would have expanded the 

 concept to include Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Western Europe. To the extent that such proposals 

 represent additional efforts to achieve diplomatic agreement, they owe much to the spirit of international 

 cooperative good will that evolved from the IGY. 



828 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Under Water. State 

 Department Document TIAS No. 6433. 



