An Arctic Ocean Summit

A hot topic, excuse the pun, these days is global warming and the affects on the melting of the Ice caps. Stemming from this are the more frequent gesturing of nations over maritime jurisdictions and boundaries in the Arctic region. The key countries met recently in an Arctic Ocean Summit to discuss issues of importance.

The North Sea in believed to be the most energy-rich regions with interest from various parties increasing as quickly as the arctic region is melting.

The Summit members plan to address topics such as boundaries, the overseeing of polar oil and mineral exploration, maritime security, transportation and environmental regulation. However, the overall focus was on the affirmation that this Arctic Group of Five are the regime in charge and to block any new international legal regime to govern, or to allow it to become an international trust as what is currently the case with the Antarctica.

This would put the Arctic Council parties such as Norway, Sweden, and Indigenous groups such as the Aleut International Association (AIA), Arctic Athabaskan Council, Gwich’in Council International, ICC, Raipon and The Saami Council out of luck in the hopes of having a say in the Arctic region.

The organizer of the Summit, Per Stig Moeller, Denmark's Foreign Minister, in his opening remarks iterated this point. He denounced the idea of a new legal regime on the basis that there is already an established international law, and the Law of the Sea.

It is great that the Arctic Ocean Summit has resorted to cooperation as opposed to conflict in settling these issues, but there is one major sticking point. How can this Summit submit to the international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) when the United States has not yet ratified the Convention? They signed the document in 1983 and accepted all the provisions, with exception to one. But with the support of the Bush administration behind the Treaty, why have they not yet ratified it?

Until this Treaty is ratified by the United States, it renders the Arctic Ocean Summit less credible in being the regime in charge. The members of the Summit should emphasize to the United States the gains that have been accomplished, and without the ratification of the Treaty, moving forward on the initiatives set out will be difficult.

Attendees
Denmark's Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Moeller
Russian Sergej Lavrov
Norwegian Jonas Gahr Stoere
Greenlandic Aleqa Hammond
Canadian Gary Lunn
US John D. Negroponte