Security Council Briefing Paper: North Pole Territorial Claims
Hope College United Nations 2013
North Pole Territorial Claims
Due to advancements in technology over the past one hundred years, the North Pole is seen as a
place rich full of natural resources such as, oil. However, the North Pole is in international
waters that do not belong to any country. With such wealth of resources becoming more
accessible with the ice caps melting, countries are trying to lay claim over the artic region.
The North Pole was isolated from human contact until the mid nineteenth century. Before then,
it was believed that the northern most artic region was in a large sea called Polynya or the Open
Polar Sea (Wright, 1953). There was hope that in favorable conditions, a boat could pass
through the ice to reach the Open Polar Sea and through to the other side of the world. One of
the first expeditions into the Artic was by William Edward Perry of Britain in 1827 (Berton,
1988). Another explorer, Frederick Cook of the United States, claimed to have reached the pole
with two Inuit men on April 21, 1908 (Bryce, 2005). However the next year, United States
Naval engineer Robert Peary claimed to have reached the true North Pole in his expedition. Due
to the inaccuracy of navigational tools, and written records of both Cook and Peary, historians
today doubt either expedition reached the North Pole.
There are a number of countries that are trying to gain access to the artic resources. These
include, Russia, Norway, Denmark and Canada. The United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1996 outlines many of the sea borders. All of these countries that are
trying to gain access to the artic have ratified the U.N. document.
The UNCLOS limits countries to an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of two hundred nautical
miles (230 miles) adjacent to their coast. According to these guidelines, no country currently
owns the North Pole artic region. After a country first ratifies the UNCLOS there is a ten year
period that they may request an extension of their continental shelf that determines the EEZ.
(Sala, 2011).
Canada has laid claim to the artic region. However, their claim has never been made official
through the UNCLOS. In 2008, Canada Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said, “Canada
exercises its sovereignty in the Artic through strong Canadian Forces and an intergovernmental
presence.” Norway signed the UNCLOS in late 1996 and could possibly submit additional
prospects extending their continental shelf. (United Nations, 2011).
Denmark made an official claim to the Commission of the Continental Shelf on December 2,
2010. They requested that their continental shelf be extended past their two hundred nautical
miles. The Commission was held in New York from March 7 to April 7, 2011. (United Nations,
2011). Denmark has since sent off further scientific exploration into the artic to try and prove a
further claim into the Arctic under the UNCLOS. (Artic Portal, 2012).
In 2001, Russia put a claim to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, claiming
most of the artic region, including the North Pole. The CLCS, with the support of other nations
such as, the United States, Canada, Norway, and Denmark, contested the claim and requested
further scientific evidence. Their claim was that an underwater mountain chain, called
Lomonosov, was an extension of their continent. Russia also made possible intentions to annex
the North Pole Artic region in 2007 (Zarakhovich, 2007).
The possible economic benefits that the North Pole region could produce is leading to a heated
debate between the major claims of Russia and Denmark. Russia has deep economic interests in
the North Pole, and has kept significant interest in the area with manned drifting stations since
the Soviet Union in 1937. (Kahl, 1998). Denmark, on the other hand, has the right to Greenland,
including Kaffeklubben Island, which is the closest landmass to the North Pole. (Arctic
Research Commission, 2009).
Oil has been discovered in the North Pole region. The Russian exploration group and the Danish
scientific exploration group have met up on the artic shelf. The incident that occurred has alerted
the secretary general to the threat to global security the north pole territory causes.
Sources and Additional Resources:
Archer, J. (2012, July 27). Danish Mission to Amass Data for North Pole Claim. MSNBC.
Retrieved from
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48357702/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/danishmission-amass-data-north-pole-claim/#.UC3LRET5Be5
Archives. (1988, August 23). A Correction. New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/23/opinion/c-a-correction310788.html?scp=3&sq=%20Cook%20Peary%20correction%20north%20pole%20neithe
r&st=cse
Arctic Portal. (2012, July 31). Denmark To Claim the North Pole. Retrieved from
http://www.arcticportal.org/news/21-shipping-news/815-claimsonthearcticdenmark
Artyom, A. (2011, May 18). Denmark Wants to Claim North Pole. The Voice of Russia.
Retrieved from http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/05/18/50475000.html
Associated Press (2008, August 19). Mackay Launches Arctic Sovereignty Operation
Nanook in Igaluit. CBC News. Retrieved from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2008/08/19/mackay-nanook.html
Berton, Pierre (1988). The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the North West Passage and the
North Pole, 1818–1909 (1 ed.). Toronto: Random House of Canada Ltd. p. 100.
Bryce, R. (2005) Cook and Peary: the Polar Controversy Resolved Stackpole 1997;
Henderson, B. True North W W Norton & Company
Declaration of Oceans and Law of the Sea. (2011, July 11). Division for Ocean Affairs and
the Law of the Sea. Retrieved from
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_declarations.htm
Kahl, J. (1998). Daily Arctic Ocean Rawinsonde Data from Soviet Drifting Ice Stations.
National Snow and Ice Data Center. Retrieved from http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0060.html
Sala, E. (2011, May 19). Who Owns the North Pole? National Geographic. Retrieved from
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/05/19/who-owns-the-north-pole/
Shipping Assesment. (2009, April 29). Arctic Marine Geography, Climate and Sea Ice.
Retrieved from
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CIsBEB
YwBg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arctic.gov%2Fpublications%2FAMSA%2Farctic_m
arine_geography.pdf&ei=rxYfUISoN6eayQHroIG4Ag&usg=AFQjCNEmFtHhJd-pDBpNNV6reMd_YLCbg&sig2=Eq2wl-bg5KqqzjbHBQsn1A
Stanners, P. (2012 August 13.) Artic Expedition to Prove Territory Claim. The Copenhagen
Post. Retrieved from http://cphpost.dk/news/international/arctic-expedition-proveterritory-claim
Wright, J.K. (1953, July). Geographical Review, Vol. 43, No. 3. pp. 338–365 "The Open Polar
Sea"
Zarakhovich, Y. (2007, July 12). Russia Claims the North Pole. Time. Retrieved from
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1642905,00.html
Additional Sources:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Cook-vs-Peary.html

http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0739-e.htm

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/coal-oil-gas/who-owns-the-north-pole

http://www.isn.ch
Questions to consider:

If a country already has claimed part of the artic, do they have a stronger claim to the
North Pole?

Does association to the artic have any sway to more economic power in the north?