Vote declined

Press, 4 December 1985, Page 8

Vote declined

NZPA-Reuter New York Australia, the United States, the Soviet Union and other parties to the Antarctic Treaty took the unusual move yesterday of declining to participate in voting on three resolutions dealing with the accord at the United Nations. The treaty members object to any changes in the agreement by the United Nations, while a number of Third World nations led by Malaysia say the world community as a whole should have a say in decisions affecting the icecovered continent , The treaty, signed in 1959, now has 18 consultative or

decision-making members, while 14- other countries have non-consultative or; ob--server status. ’.l- hv > The treaty parties announced their decision to stay out of the voting after Australia, chairman of its group at the United Nations, withdrew a resolution of itsown, saying the tradition of consensus on Antarctic mat- i ters had been’ broken. j One of the: resolutions adopted in yesterday’s voting in the General' Assembly’s main political committee called for South Africa to be excluded from meetings of the treaty’s consultative parties “at the earliest possible date.” -