Why are world leaders visiting Antarctica?
First of all, not all world leaders visit Antarctica. Sorry to rain on your parade. No, they don’t visit on a regular basis. Once in a while, you may find a world leader visit the continent down there. But the purpose remains to be because they want to visit their stations. If there is one thing you should know about Antarctica and world leaders, it is the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty’s signing date was on December 1 of 1959. Twelve countries signed the treaty. These are: Argentina Australia Belgium Chile The French Republic Japan New Zealand Norway South Africa UK Northern Ireland USA These twelve nations meet every year. The purpose of such a meeting is to revisit the treaty. Sometimes, there are changes that they have to make or discuss. This is the perfect time to discuss or make such changes. The Antarctic Treaty contains stipulations on the usage of the continent. The agreement states that the continent should never be a scene of conflict, among others. The treaty also allows for fair usage of the continent by the active countries. Aside from this, the treaty agrees that: These countries can make use of the continent for peaceful goals. The continent is also open to military activities. Such treaty disallows the establishment of military bases and such; The treaty allows countries to conduct scientific research on the continent; Such a treaty encourages scientific cooperation among these countries. Stipulations include easy access to the research results of these countries. The treaty also prohibits the disposal of radioactive waste on the continent. At the same time, nuclear explosions are not allowed; And a lot more. You may also be wondering why the continent does not have any form of government. It is obvious. The region, being in the lowermost part of the Earth, may not be ideal for fostering communities. So, if we go back to the question, sorry to disappoint; there’s no conspiracy theory behind it. The Antarctic Treaty is why they’re there, not for anything else.