Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty
  1. About
  2. The Secretariat

The Secretariat of
the Antarctic Treaty

The Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty is located in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Argentine Government provides the office for the Secretariat and the Headquarters Agreement describes the relationship between the ATCM and the Argentine Republic with respect to the Secretariat’s operations in Argentina. The Secretariat and its work are funded by the Consultative Parties. The Secretariat’s budget is approved each year at the ATCM while Financial Regulations govern its management.

Our mission

The Secretariat mission is to assist the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) in performing their functions, with the aim of strengthening the Antarctic Treaty system and ensuring that all activities in Antarctica are consistent with the purposes and principles of the Antarctic Treaty and its Protocol on Environmental Protection.

What we do

Under direction of the ATCM, the Secretariat carries out the tasks specified in Measure 1 (2003), which can be summarized under the following headings:

  • Supporting the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP).
  • Facilitating the exchange of information between the Parties required in the Treaty and the Environment Protocol.
  • Collecting, storing, archiving and making available the documents of the ATCM.
  • Providing and disseminating information about the Antarctic Treaty system and Antarctic activities.

Our Services

Who we are

The following permanent staff in Buenos Aires is assisted by support and project staff.

How we got here

Our history

The Antarctic Treaty operated without any continuing administrative institution from its signing in 1959 until 2004. After several years of discussion and planning, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting decided at ATCM XXIV (St. Petersburg) to establish a permanent Secretariat in the city of Buenos Aires (Decision 1 (2001)). At ATCM XXVI (Madrid), the Parties adopted the Headquarters Agreement between the ATCM and the Government of the Argentine Republic (Measure 1 (2003)), which lays the foundations of how the Secretariat would start operations in Buenos Aires and its institutional relationship with the host country. On 1 September 2004, the Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty formally began operations.

The Executive Secretaries

The first Executive Secretary was Mr. Johannes Huber of the Netherlands, who held the position from the beginning of the Secretariat's activities until 2009. subsequently Dr. Manfred Reinke (Germany) was appointed and served from 2009 to 2017. He was succeeded by Mr. Albert Lluberas (Uruguay), who served until 2025. The current position is held by Mr. Francisco Berguño of Chile.