The Svalbard Treaty

This presentation was submitted as a part of a requirement for our marine governance and policy course. It covers the underlying reason and following issues surrounding the territorial dispute and establishment of the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 in an effort to appease Norway and Russia.

1. The Spitsbergen Treaty SVALBARD by Thiviya Nair & Cheuk Ho Wu

2. Contents Introduction (Thiviya) A Timeline of Issues (Thiviya) Solutions (Cheuk Ho) Persisting Issues & Summary (Cheuk Ho)

3. Introduction

4. Svalbard’s Story Svalbard is an archipelago Northern Europe - midway between continental Norway and the North Pole (from 74° to 81° north latitude, 10° to 35° east longitude) Largest island is Spitsbergen Has a long history of natural resource exploitation and subsequent settlement Was a no-man’s-land for centuries until recently Svalbard Norway European Union Russia

5. A Timeline of Issues

6. Svalbard’s Story – A Timeline Pomors & Scandinavians hunt on Svalbard on occasion – recognising it as a fertile hunting ground 1100 1596 Dutchman Will Barentz discovers island while seeking a Northern Sea route for trading purposes English ship landed at Ben ø ya island and began hunting animals 1604 1611 Dutch quickly joined in and began hunting animals as well. Bowhead whales became primary target for oil as energy source , and baleen for consumer products . Conflicts between English, Dutch, Danish and French fleets were common, due to the claim of ‘ mare liberum ’. Dutch established a settlement while fewer groups from other countries overwintered onland. 1619 1611 Russians were interested in the resources and arrived to hunt land mammals (walruses and foxes) Hunting of animals continued until 1941 with little to no regulation, resulting in the tragedy of commons .

7. Norwegians settled in Longyearbyen to open a coal mining company – the Arctic Coal Company - funded by American businessmen. Many workers and their families settled in the town to work for the mining company. However they suffered poor working conditions and inconsistent delivery of supplies 1906 1914 World War I begins. World War I ends. The Coal Rush: British, Russian, Swedish and Dutch companies rush to open coal mining companies due to the ‘ Terra Nullius ’ assumption of the land. Each country’s settlement attempted to occupy as large a territory as possible to lay claim to the archipelago. 1918 1917 Coal mining companies are set up in Ny-Ålesund and Sveagruva . Many accidents have occurred in these mines. Coal mining is still active in 2017 at the latter location. 1920 End of the Rush: Coal mining came to an abrupt halt as prices fell and Norway’s interest in controlling the area. Now area is utilised primarily by Norwegian and Russian companies. The Svalbard Treaty was drafted and signed. ACC sold to the Norwegian company as mining winds down 1916

8. Norway attained sovereignty of Svalbard officially, inclusive of the 12-mile territorial seas around the islands. 1925 2017 TODAY Norway establishes a 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off its mainland coast, and a 200-mile non-discriminatory fisheries protection zone (FPZ) the following year. There is also overlapping of land where natural ga iss. Russia disagrees and there is a dispute on the overlapping boundary claims in the Barents Sea – an important fishing zone. 1976 World War II resulted in evacuation of Norwegian and Soviet inhabitants, and a short occupation by a German outpost. Post-war, Russia offered military defence to Norway, which rejected the offer and joined NATO. This caused a tension between the parties . 1941

9. Solution The Svalbard Treaty

10. The Svalbard Treaty Formerly the Spitsbergen Treaty Signed on 9 Feb 1920 in the Versailles negotiation after World War, enforced in 1925 As of 2016, a total of 43 countries are registered as parties to the treaty Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, India, Iceland, Italy, Japan, China, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UK, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the USA, Venezuela, Austria

11. Content of the treaty in brief (I) 10 Articles Article 1: Norway has "full and absolute sovereignty" over all the islands located between 10° and 35° longitude East of Greenwich and between 74° and 81° latitude North” Article 2-3: The signatory states shall have "equal liberty of access and entry" to area stated in Article 1, and can undertake commercial activities "on a footing of absolute equality subject to Norwegian legislation Article 4: Public wireless telegraphy stations shall be opened "on a footing of absolute equality" , subject to Norwegian legislation Article 5: Specific conventions shall be concluded to lay down the conditions under which scientific investigations may be conducted

12. Content of the treaty in brief (II) Article 6: Claims were considered on land that occupied prior signing the treaty, in a certain time Article 7: Signatory states can acquire, enjoy and exercise the right of property's ownership based on "complete equality" Article 8: "Taxes, dues and duties levied shall be devoted exclusively" to Norwegian legislation and administration Article 9: Norway guarantees its peaceful utilization, never be used for warlike purpose Article 10: All States were entitled to become parties to the treaty once it had been accordingly ratified

13. Summary Svalbard is under Norwegian administration and legislation Taxation for Svalbard supports environmental conservation Citizens of all signatory nations have free access and the right of economic activity Svalbard remains demilitarized

14. Issues that persist before & today Case studies

15. Fishery rights & Maritime border Rights and border between Russia and Norway have been in dispute in recent decades. Legal concepts such as Exclusive Economic Zones and Maritime Zone outside the territorial sea was introduced before signing of treaty  which means territory in Norway only covers the land and territorial sea to a distance of 12 nautical miles, some other signatory states regard the treaty as applying to the fisheries zone and the continental shelf.

16. Fisheries right & Maritime border However, in 1977, Norway set up a 200-nautical mile non-discriminatory Fisheries Protection Zone off the Svalbard, thus Soviet Union protested that this violated the treaty In 2010, Russia compromised and negotiated with Norway for their maritime border in the Barents sea

17. Military The satellite data downloaded from Svalbard is either of a military character or being used for military purposes, which go against the spirit of Svalbard Treaty to a certain extent Opening of the airport near Longyearbyen, Russian facilities can be suspicious

18. Commercial activity by Trust Arktikugol (TA) TA is a Russian coal mining company. TA operates tourist helicopter flights from Longyearbyen to Barentsburg to compensate for the decreasing income of mining. Subsequently, Norway stated that only flights related to mining activities were allowed . TA asserted tourism is a commercial activity covered by the treaty, but eventually, TA was penalised for illegal flights and prohibited to operate such activities in the future.

19. Scientific Research Establishment of research stations in Svalbard by other countries is regarded as political activity and also an instrument for government and Norwegian Polar institute to achieve influence The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is of course an initiative to preserve genetic diversity, whilst it involves a number of countries assenting to Norway's sovereignty

20. Commercial activities by Asian countries Make use of the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage for shipping manufactured and processed goods to Europe and the Eastern seaboard of the United States Transportation distance is about 64-70km lesser than original route Asian countries can save EUR50-101 billion annually

21. Summary To conclude: No mechanism for dealing with disagreements and accusations such as those of alleged military usage, nor are there any multilateral mechanisms that allow parties to meet and interact. Persisting legal uncertainties in the offshore areas surrounding Svalbard, along with increased commercial activities in those areas.

22. References Willem barentsz and the discovery of Svalbard. Retrieved from http://svalbardmuseum.no/en/kultur-og-historie/oppdagelsen/ The disputed maritime zones around Svalbard. (2010) Retrieved from http://ulfstein.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ChurchillUlfstein20101.pdf Norway and Russia Agree on Maritime Boundary in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean (2010). Retrieved from https://www.asil.org/insights/volume/14/issue/34/norway-and-russia-agree-maritime-boundary-barents-sea-and-arctic-ocean The Arctic in International Law and Policy (2017) Keil, K. (2017). The Svalbard Treaty faces new challenges. Retrieved from https://www.arcticnow.com/politics-policy/2017/03/14/the-svalbard-treaty-faces-new-challenges/ Svalbard Treaty. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.sysselmannen.no/en/Toppmeny/About-Svalbard/Laws-and-regulations/Svalbard-Treaty The Svalbard Treaty. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.jus.uio.no/english/services/library/treaties/01/1-11/svalbard-treaty.xml Grydehøj , A., Grydehøj , A., & Ackrén , M. (2012). The Globalization of the Arctic: Negotiating Sovereignty and Building Communities in Svalbard, Norway. Island Studies Journal , 7 (1), 99–118. Anderson, D. H. (2007). The Status under International Law of the Maritime Areas around Svalbard. In Symposium on Politics and Law – Energy and Environment in the Far North (pp. 1–16). Churchill, R., & Ulfstein , G. (2010). The disputed maritime zones around Svalbard. Changes in the Arctic Environment and the Law of the Sea , 551–593. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10588/4419 Hartley, A. (2012). No where is land. Art Review , 88–93.