A geopolítica brasileira para a Antártica: perspectivas para o Tratado Antártico

Abstract

Signed in 1959 by 12 countries, the Antarctic Treaty, also known as the Antarctic Treaty System, is the document that regulates the international legal status of the Antarctic continent. The consensus - even if there are differences in relation to interests - among the signatory countries of the Treaty meant the creation of this unprecedented instrument in international law. Countries' mineral exploration interests may lead to the amendment of the Treaty in 2048 to allow such activities in Antarctica. There is also the risk, in view of the divergence that the issue may cause among member countries, that there will be an undesirable disruption of the regime, which would represent a setback in terms of international regulation of Antarctica. In this sense, the work is developed to know what should be the position and possible actions of the Brazilian government in order to protect its interests in relation to the Treaty, revealing itself - after research using as methodology the bibliographical and documentary research available in publications and standards accessible to the general public and others contained in sites of important media of the world network of computers, including data already raised by other researchers and authors on the subject - it is necessary that the Brazilian positioning be to make efforts with affirmative actions of research and presence of nationals in that Continent so that it can attract even more representation in the consultative meetings of the Treaty and thus increase the influence in the sense to solidify the current regime regarding prohibitions of mineral exploitation activities, since the balanced ecosystem influence that Antarctica exerts on Brazil greatly affects the climate, which could compromise crucial economic activity for the country’s economy if the Antarctic climate is affected by mineral exploitation.