In the world of international political affairs Antarctica has been the forgotten continent. Notorious for its harsh climate, renowned for the heroism which characterised its discovery and exploration, appreciated for its spectacular beauty, Antarctica was for most purposes simply there, a standing challenge to human endeavour. Although occasionally the scene of events bringing it to temporary notice, Antarctica's dominant international characteristic was its obscurity.

That obscurity is disappearing. Antarctica is now thought about and discussed not only by States with a direct and active interest in Antarctica but also by States which in the past have never given it more than a passing thought. Each year since 1983 Antarctica has been on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly, current interest beginning with the statement made in the General Assembly in 1982 by Dr Mahathir, Prime Minister of Malaysia. As a factor in international relations it can no longer be ignored, and as a possible source of friction between States, its future calls for the most careful and responsible consideration.

Antarctica's future is rooted in its present, in the form of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 and the developments which have flowed from it since its entry into force in 1961, and which together now comprise the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). But that Treaty did not emerge in a vacuum and the immediate background to it is relevant to both its present significance and its future value.