| Country | Government type |
| Antarctica | Antarctic Treaty Summary - the Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961, establishes the legal framework for the management of Antarctica; the 30th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting was held in Delhi, India in April/May 2007; at these periodic meetings, decisions are made by consensus (not by vote) of all consultative member nations; at the end of 2007, there were 46 treaty member nations: 28 consultative and 18 non-consultative; consultative (decision-making) members include the seven nations that claim portions of Antarctica as national territory (some claims overlap) and 21 non-claimant nations; the US and Russia have reserved the right to make claims; the US does not recognize the claims of others; Antarctica is administered through meetings of the consultative member nations; decisions from these meetings are carried out by these member nations (with respect to their own nationals and operations) in accordance with their own national laws; the years in parentheses indicate when a consultative member-nation acceded to the Treaty and when it was accepted as a consultative member, while no date indicates the country was an original 1959 treaty signatory; claimant nations are - Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and the UK. Nonclaimant consultative nations are - Belgium, Brazil (1975/1983), Bulgaria (1978/1998) China (1983/1985), Ecuador (1987/1990), Finland (1984/1989), Germany (1979/1981), India (1983/1983), Italy (1981/1987), Japan, South Korea (1986/1989), Netherlands (1967/1990), Peru (1981/1989), Poland (1961/1977), Russia, South Africa, Spain (1982/1988), Sweden (1984/1988), Ukraine (1992/2004), Uruguay (1980/1985), and the US; non-consultative members, with year of accession in parentheses, are - Austria (1987), Belarus (2006), Canada (1988), Colombia (1989), Cuba (1984), Czech Republic (1962/1993), Denmark (1965), Estonia (2001), Greece (1987), Guatemala (1991), Hungary (1984), North Korea (1987), Papua New Guinea (1981), Romania (1971), Slovakia (1962/1993), Switzerland (1990), Turkey (1996), and Venezuela (1999); note - Czechoslovakia acceded to the Treaty in 1962 and separated into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993; Article 1 - area to be used for peaceful purposes only; military activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purpose; Article 2 - freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue; Article 3 - free exchange of information and personnel, cooperation with the UN and other international agencies; Article 4 - does not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force; Article 5 - prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive wastes; Article 6 - includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees 00 minutes south and reserves high seas rights; Article 7 - treaty-state observers have free access, including aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all stations, installations, and equipment; advance notice of all expeditions and of the introduction of military personnel must be given; Article 8 - allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists by their own states; Article 9 - frequent consultative meetings take place among member nations; Article 10 - treaty states will discourage activities by any country in Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty; Article 11 - disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties concerned or, ultimately, by the ICJ; Articles 12, 13, 14 - deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among involved nations; other agreements - some 200 recommendations adopted at treaty consultative meetings and ratified by governments include - Agreed Measures for Fauna and Flora (1964) which were later incorporated into the Environmental Protocol; Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (1972); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1980); a mineral resources agreement was signed in 1988 but remains unratified; the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed 4 October 1991 and entered into force 14 January 1998; this agreement provides for the protection of the Antarctic environment through six specific annexes: 1) environmental impact assessment, 2) conservation of Antarctic fauna and flora, 3) waste disposal and waste management, 4) prevention of marine pollution, 5) area protection and management and 6) liability arising from environmental emergencies; it prohibits all activities relating to mineral resources except scientific research; a permanent Antarctic Treaty Secretariat was established in 2004 in Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Antigua and Barbuda | constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government and a Commonwealth realm |
| Arctic Ocean | void |
| Argentina | republic |
| Armenia | republic |
| Aruba | parliamentary democracy |
| Ashmore and Cartier Islands | void |
| Atlantic Ocean | void |
| Australia | federal parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Austria | federal republic |
| Azerbaijan | republic |
| Bahamas, The | constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Bahrain | constitutional monarchy |
| Bangladesh | parliamentary democracy |
| Barbados | parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Belarus | republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship |
| Belgium | federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy |
| Belize | parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Benin | republic |
| Bermuda | parliamentary; self-governing territory |
| Bhutan | constitutional monarchy |
| Bolivia | republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a "Social Unitarian State" |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | emerging federal democratic republic |
| Botswana | parliamentary republic |
| Bouvet Island | void |
| Brazil | federal republic |
| British Indian Ocean Territory | void |
| British Virgin Islands | NA |
| Brunei | constitutional sultanate |
| Bulgaria | parliamentary democracy |
| Burkina Faso | parliamentary republic |
| Burma | military junta |
| Burundi | republic |
| Cambodia | multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy |
| Cameroon | republic; multiparty presidential regime |
| Canada | a parliamentary democracy, a federation, and a Commonwealth realm |
| Cape Verde | republic |
| Cayman Islands | British crown colony |
| Central African Republic | republic |
| Chad | republic |
| Chile | republic |
| China | Communist state |
| Christmas Island | NA |
| Clipperton Island | void |
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands | NA |
| Colombia | republic; executive branch dominates government structure |
| Comoros | republic |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the | republic |
| Congo, Republic of the | republic |
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This page was last updated on 28 June, 2009 |
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