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The United Nations and Antarctica, 1996: maintaining consensus towards the millennium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

Peter J. Beck
Peter J. Beck
Affiliation:
Faculty of Human Sciences, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE
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Abstract

The thirteenth UN session on the ‘Question of Antarctica,’ held at the close of 1996, saw the reaffirmation of the consensus approach restored in 1994. One brief session of the First Committee, followed by the General Assembly's adoption of resolution A51/56 without a vote, signified the continued acceptance by UN members, including Antarctic Treaty Parties (ATPs), of the benefits of an agreed approach towards the ‘Question of Antarctica.’ Resolution A51/56, acknowledging the broader international community's interest in the continent, marked the ATPs' willingness to allow a limited UN role in Antarctica. UN members, identifying the merits of further research on environmental and scientific questions, pressed the case for a comprehensive report on the state of the Antarctic environment, as discussed at recent Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. The ‘Question of Antarctica,’ having moved from annual to biennial UN discussions in 1994, has now been put on a three-year cycle; thus, it will not be placed on the UN agenda again until the close of 1999.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 34 , Issue 188 , January 1998 , pp. 39 - 44
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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