IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 51 
Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2009 
Mr. TIBERI (for himself, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. CONNOLLY of 
Virginia, Mrs. DAHLKEMPER, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. FARR, Mr. GORDON of 
Tennessee, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. INGLIS, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. PETRI, Mr. 
POE of Texas, and Mr. TURNER) submitted the following concurrent res-
olution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the signing of the 
Antarctic Treaty. 
Whereas the Antarctic Treaty was signed by 12 nations in 
Washington, DC, on December 1, 1959, ‘‘with the inter-
ests of science and the progress of all mankind’’; 
Whereas the Antarctic Treaty was established to continue 
and develop international ‘‘cooperation on the basis of 
freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica as ap-
plied during the International Geophysical Year’’; 
Whereas the Antarctic Treaty came into force on June 23, 
1961, after its unanimous ratification by the seven claim-
ant nations (Argentina, Australia, Chile, the French Re-
public, Norway, and the United Kingdom of Great Brit-
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•HCON 51 IH 
ain and Northern Ireland) and five other nations (Bel-
gium, Japan, the Union of South Africa, the Union of 
Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United States of 
America), who had collaborated in Antarctic research ac-
tivities during the International Geophysical Year from 
July 1, 1957, through December 31, 1958; 
Whereas ‘‘no acts or activities taking place while the present 
treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, 
supporting, or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty 
in Antarctica’’; 
Whereas the Antarctic Treaty established a firm foundation 
for the United States of America and the Union of Soviet 
Socialist Republics to cooperate during the cold war; 
Whereas the 14 articles of the Antarctic Treaty provide an 
ongoing firm foundation to successfully maintain the re-
gion south of 60 degrees south latitude, nearly 10 per-
cent of the Earth, ‘‘for peaceful purposes only’’; 
Whereas the Antarctic Treaty provides an ongoing firm foun-
dation ‘‘for nations to continuously meet for the purpose 
of exchanging information, consulting together on mat-
ters of common interest pertaining to Antarctica, and 
formulating and considering, and recommending to their 
Governments, measures in furtherance of the principles 
and objectives of the treaty’’; 
Whereas the Antarctic Treaty prohibits ‘‘any measure of a 
military nature’’, despite the complete absence of indige-
nous human populations and extreme isolation of the 
continent surrounded by oceans at the bottom of the 
Earth; 
Whereas the Antarctic Treaty became the first nuclear arms 
agreement in our world by establishing that ‘‘any nuclear 
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explosions in Antarctica and the disposal there of radio-
active waste material shall be prohibited’’; 
Whereas common interests among the Antarctic Treaty na-
tions facilitated the development and ratification of the 
Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Liv-
ing Resources; 
Whereas the Antarctic Treaty now has 46 nation signatories 
that together represent nearly 90 percent of the human 
population; 
Whereas the scientific basis of international cooperation 
founded by the Antarctic Treaty offers humankind an in-
stitutional precedent for the peaceful governance of inter-
national spaces; 
Whereas in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Inter-
national Geophysical Year, the United States House of 
Representatives and United States Senate in their con-
current resolutions and the Antarctic Treaty Consultative 
Parities in their Edinburgh Declaration recognize the 
current International Polar Year for its contributions to 
global science and international cooperation; and 
Whereas the International Polar Year program has endorsed 
the Antarctic Treaty Summit: Science-Policy Interactions 
in International Governance that will be convened in 
Washington, DC, at the Smithsonian Institution on the 
50th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress— 
(1) recognizes that the Antarctic Treaty has 
successfully ensured the ‘‘use of Antarctica for 
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peaceful purposes only and the continuance of inter-
national harmony’’ continuously for the past half 
century; and 
(2) encourages diverse international and inter-
disciplinary collaboration in the Antarctic Treaty 
Summit to identify lessons and stories from 50 years 
of international cooperation under the Antarctic 
Treaty that have legacy value for humankind. 
Æ 
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