Jan Huber, Executive Secretary of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat visits Finland

Press release 193/2005
17 June, 2005


The Executive Secretary of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, Mr. Jan Huber, is visiting Finland on 21–22 June. He will attend the Arctic and Antarctic Research seminar organised by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Geological Survey of Finland, where points common to Arctic and Antarctic research will be discussed. At the seminar Executive Secretary Huber will talk about the current state and tasks of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, and Finnish Antarctic experts will present issues topical in their own field.

The Antarctic Treaty was concluded in 1959. Its three central goals are: demilitarisation of Antarctica; regulation of scientific work done on Antarctica as well as guaranteeing freedom of research; and ending territorial demands concerning Antarctica. The Treaty was supplemented in 1991 with a Protocol on Environmental Protection. Matters pertaining to the Antarctic Treaty are discussed and decided at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting held each year. Finland became a signatory of the Antarctic Treaty in 1984 and attained the status of Consultative Party in 1989.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty is situated in Buenos Aires, and Mr. Huber of The Netherlands was elected its first Executive Secretary in 2004. Establishment of a Permanent Secretariat was necessary, e.g. because the number of Consultative Parties to the Treaty had increased and the tasks of the Antarctic Treaty Systems have continually expanded and deepened. Public interest in Antarctica has also increased.

Additional information: Project Assistant Mikko Ilkko, Unit for the Northern Dimension, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5617