U.S. non-party status to UNCLOS acts as a roadblock to resolution of Arctic disputes, U.S participation and leadership is required to proceed

This paper began with an explanation of climate change and Arctic ice melt because predictions about future developments in the region rely on a basic understanding of these forces. As the ice melts, the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route will become viable routes for summer shipping opening the region to a new reality. Merchants as well as politicians are calculating the dangers as well as the potential cost reductions associated with northern shipping routes. As the technology and infrastructure develop in the Arctic, it may become possible to utilize the region's rich natural resources. It is this prospect that has generated the most excitement among Arctic nations and precipitates the need for an effective legal regime in the area. It is my belief that UNCLOS and the Commission on Continental Shelves can provide the legal mechanisms necessary to delineate sovereignty over the continental shelves and ownership of the resources that may be discovered there. UNCLOS will inform the debates about the Northwest Passage; implicating the future of international trade. Finally, any dispute resolution in the Arctic would likely either involve a UNCLOS body, such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, or an application of UNCLOS principles. The United States' nonratification of the Convention acts as a major roadblock to advancing its national interests and settling the controversies in the region.