Senate approves Antarctic Treaty protocol on environmental protection

Unanimously, the Senate Chamber approved Annex VI to the Protocol of the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection. With this, the project is ready to become a law.

The objective of Annex VI is to establish obligations for Antarctic operators to adopt preventive measures, plans, and actions in the face of environmental emergencies, as well as mechanisms to determine responsibility in case of failure to adopt such actions.

"The existence of this environmental regulation will allow the control of these activities (of Antarctic operators), as well as the optimization of the resources allocated to this matter," said the Director of Antarctic Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, Rodrigo Waghorn.

"The approval of Annex VI is relevant for the protection of the Antarctic environment and enhance Chile's leadership in protecting this fragile issue," he added.

The parliamentarians valued Chile's progress in this matter and highlighted the importance of this approval in the framework of the next consultative meeting of the parties to the Antarctic Treaty to be held in Paris between June 14 and 24.