COMMITTEE ON PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE CONCLUDES SESSION

Press Release
OS/1724

COMMITTEE ON PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE CONCLUDES SESSION

(Reproduced as received from UN Information Service.)

VIENNA, 14 June -- A draft declaration meant to ensure that the benefits of space exploration and space technology are shared among all nations, as well as plans for a third United Nations conference on space cooperation, have been recommended to the General Assembly by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Those recommendations were made today as the Committee concluded its annual session, which began on 3 June.

The eight-article "draft declaration on international cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for the benefit and in the interests of all States, taking into particular account the needs of developing countries", would have the Assembly affirm space exploration as the province of all humankind, stressing the freedom of States to determine what type of cooperation they deem to be equitable, effective and mutually acceptable. The stated aims of space cooperation would include promoting the development of space science and technology and their applications, and facilitating exchanges of expertise and technology.

The Committee would have the Assembly decide that a third United Nations conference on the peaceful exploration and uses of outer space (UNISPACE III) should take the form of a special session of the Committee, open to all Member States. It would be convened at Vienna in 1999 or 2000, depending on how soon agreement can be reached on an agenda.

Throughout the day, meetings of the "Group of 77" developing countries, as well as other informal consultations, focused on how best to implement a proposal to elect officers annually on the basis of equitable geographical distribution. The proposal, put forward in various forms during the session by the Group of 77, the African Group, the Asian Group and individual States would put an end to the Committee's 36-year practice of having three offices -- Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Rapporteur -- permanently assigned to Austria, Romania and Brazil, respectively.

The Committee decided to entrust its Chairman, assisted by the other officers and the Secretariat, to conduct informal consultations in the interval before the next session, with a view to reaching consensus on the modalities of establishing a new composition of officers.

Also today, the Committee made a series of recommendations concerning ongoing work by its subsidiary bodies. It approved the report of its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, which includes a preliminary technical report on the measurement of space debris. The technical report is the culmination of the first year of a three-year work plan which calls for the Subcommittee to examine methods of modelling space debris at next year's session, and to study mitigation measures in 1998. The Committee called for the Subcommittee to continue to give priority to the issue.

Included in the report of the Committee's Legal Subcommittee, also approved today, is a call for the Office for Outer Space Affairs to collaborate with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) secretariat in an analysis of the compatibility of a Colombian working paper with ITU rules and procedures governing use of the geostationary orbit. The Colombian paper proposes provisions concerning the unassigned bands of the orbit, aimed at ensuring that developing countries, particularly those which have not yet had the opportunity to avail themselves of broadcast frequencies, are guaranteed equitable access to the orbit, which is understood to be a limited natural resource.

The Committee again agreed that no review of the General Assembly's 1992 Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space is needed at this time, but instructed its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee to keep abreast of developments in safety standards for land-based nuclear power stations.

(For background on the session, see Press Release OS/1723 of 31 May.)

Closing Statements

NANDASIRI JASENTULIYANA, Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna and Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs, made a closing statement on behalf of Director-General Giorgio Giacomelli. He congratulated the Committee on its adoption of legal principles that would seek to ensure that all States, particularly the developing countries, would benefit from space exploration. He also welcomed the decision on UNISPACE -- an important event that would serve to prepare all nations for the transition into the new millenium.

The Chairman, PETER HOHENFELLNER (Austria), summing up the discussion of working methods, said he did not wish to stand in the way of the work of the Committee and would step down as soon as new officers were agreed upon. To

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provide a smooth and orderly transition, he would undertake informal consultations during the General Assembly session and, if necessary, during the sessions of the two Subcommittees, fully taking into account the proposals made during the current session.

Closing statements were also made by the representatives of regional groups.

Declaration on Space Benefits

On 4 June, Chile urged the Committee to adopt a draft declaration on the equitable international sharing of the benefits of the exploration and use of outer space. He said it was the product of 10 years of deliberation in the Legal Subcommittee and contained no controversial elements in either an East-West context or a North-South context.

Initially, the United Kingdom and the United States questioned the need for such a declaration. Canada repeatedly expressed concern that any commitment to international cooperation must ensure benefits to both partners. India and the Czech Republic, however, echoed the Chilean call for the Committee to approve the draft at this session.

The text that was approved stresses the need for space cooperation to be conducted in accordance with relevant provisions of international law, and for all States to benefit, regardless of their degree of development. Contractual terms in cooperative ventures are to be "fair and reasonable" and in full compliance with the parties' legitimate rights, including intellectual property rights.

The draft directs particular attention towards the interests of developing countries and of countries with incipient space programmes stemming from cooperation with countries having more advanced space capabilities. All manner of organizations, including research institutions and development aid agencies, would be urged to consider how space technologies could be applied to help them attain development goals.

Just before the text was approved this morning, the representative of Brazil expressed his delegation's satisfaction, but noted also its disappointment at the deletion of a paragraph on environmental protection. He proposed that the theme of preservation of the space environment be included in list of potential items to be examined by the Legal Subcommittee at its next session.

UNISPACE III

The General Assembly agreed last year that a third United Nations conference on the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space (UNISPACE III)

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could be convened before the turn of the century. It asked the Committee to consider the agenda, venue and funding mechanisms for such an event and to make a final recommendation at the current session. The previous conferences (UNISPACE and UNISPACE 82) were held at Vienna in 1968 and 1982, respectively.

The Committee's Scientific and Technical Subcommittee has been considering the question for several years. It was able to agree this year that the basic objectives of UNISPACE III would be to promote the use of space technology to help solve global and regional problems, and to strengthen the capacity of States to apply space research for economic, social and cultural development. The conference would review recent advances in space technology and applications, as well as economic factors limiting such development, with a view to strengthening international cooperation to overcome those factors.

In particular, as envisaged by the Subcommittee, the conference would analyse the relationship between the commercialization of space technology and the building of indigenous space capabilities, with a view to further encouraging developing countries to participate in the development and use of space technologies. It would consider how international cooperation could be strengthened to promote the use by all States of space applications in such fields as remote sensing, weather and climate observations, and environmental monitoring. It would also consider how space applications can be used to promote sustainable development in line with Agenda 21 -- the global programme of action adopted in 1992 by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

At this session, many developing countries, including the Republic of Korea, Morocco, Ecuador, Cuba, China, Philippines, Chile and Brazil, strongly supported a third conference. Chile observed that the conference would also benefit countries with more advanced space capabilities, as it would help them find new markets for their technologies and processes.

However, a number of Western countries were calling for an alternative approach that would achieve the same goals through a less costly mechanism. The United States argued that a third conference of the scope and scale of UNISPACE 82 was neither necessary, given the international cooperation already in effect, nor appropriate, in the light of the severe financial constraints under which the United Nations and individual nations were operating. Some countries, notably Japan and Turkey, suggested that there would be little point in holding the conference unless it had the support of all countries.

The option the Committee approved -- a special, expanded session of the Committee -- grew out of a cost-saving proposal made in the Subcommittee in February by the Czech Republic. It would have the Assembly ask the Committee to serve as preparatory committee for the special session, with the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee acting as its advisory committee. The Committee would limit its regular meetings and those of its subsidiaries during the year

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of the conference, so that resources could be redeployed. Additional activities would be envisaged if voluntary contributions were made by interested States or organizations.

The Committee called on its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, in its role as advisory committee, to finalize the agenda for the special session; agree on a date, preferably in 1999; plan related events, such as workshops and trade exhibitions; and outline the desired form of participation by relevant organizations in preparations for the special session.

Working Methods

The methods by which the Committee elects its officers and conducts its work, and the rules that would govern any efforts to reform those methods, were the subject of extensive debate throughout the session. A number of speakers, including the representatives of Japan, Spain, the "Group of 77" developing countries (Pakistan), the African Group (Morocco) and the Asian Group (Republic of Korea), objected to the decision adopted at the Committee's inception in 1960, whereby the offices of President, Vice-Chairman and Rapporteur are permanently assigned to Austria, Romania and Brazil, respectively.

Critics suggested that the procedure had been adopted to hold East-West tensions in check at the height of the cold war and was no longer appropriate in the light of new geopolitical realities. Also challenged as a cold-war holdover -- by the Group of 77 and by Spain -- was a unanimous 1962 decision requiring all decisions to be made by consensus. As the representative of Morocco put it, "we would like to see our partners stop treating us as guests in our own house".

Strong advocates for retention of the consensus rule included Austria, United States, Brazil, Ecuador, Russian Federation, Canada, France and Japan. France said that if the practice were dropped, the Committee would cease to exist. As any decision to abolish the rule would require a consensus, it was clear that the rule would stand. Ultimately, the Committee agreed that consensus decision-making had served it well in its substantive work. Spain, however, stressed that consensus must be distinguished from unanimity, and India and Iran felt that the consensus rule had not been intended to be applied to purely procedural matters. On 4 June, the Senior Legal Liaison Officer of the United Nations Office at Vienna presented an opinion on a proposal by Japan regarding the addition to the Committee's agenda of items on its election of officers and its rules of procedure. He explained to the Committee that it was subject to the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, which specified that it could not, on its own initiative, amend the agenda approved in advance by the Assembly. It could only recommend, by consensus, that the Assembly approve additional items for the following year.

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The representative of the Asian Group said that the Group was not satisfied with that legal opinion and asked for it to be referred to legal authorities at United Nations Headquarters. The Office of Legal Affairs in New York confirmed the Vienna opinion. However, some delegations, notably Japan, disagreed with the Secretariat interpretation, maintaining that the rule being cited in support of the legal opinion was meant to preclude the Committee from choosing new categories of subjects for consideration, not from designating specific agenda items.

The representative of Morocco, speaking for the African Group, said that for any country to hold office in a multilateral body such as the Committee for so many years was "a hardly justifiable departure" from Assembly procedures. He proposed a new procedure that would provide for five officers, corresponding to the five regions of the world, with an equitable rotation among those regions, in line with the usual practice of the General Assembly and its subsidiaries.

Similarly, Japan argued that balance was needed "not between East and West, but rather between developed and developing countries", and urged the Committee to elect five officers (a chairperson, three vice-chairpersons and a rapporteur) each year, ensuring a balance among the five regional groups.

Japan also proposed, in the interest of cost saving and rationalization of work, that the Committee and its Legal Subcommittee meet in future for only one week a year, rather than continuing to be allocated a two-week and a three-week session respectively. However, a number of delegations observed that there had been fruitful discussions on new agenda items and opposed any premature decision to reduce the length of sessions.

In the end, the Committee was unable to reach consensus on working methods. It decided to hold informal consultations on the reorganization of its bureau, keeping in mind the principles of equitable geographical representation and rotation, with the aim of reaching agreement before the next session begins. The structure of the agenda and the length of sessions are also to be discussed in those consultations.

Space Debris

Considerable attention was given to the proliferation of orbiting space debris, which consists mostly of fragments of upper rocket stages and spent satellites. The hazards it poses in space include the possibility of collision with spacecraft. Debris particles, as small as a fraction of a millimetre in diameter, are capable of causing considerable damage, and, according to the International Astronautical Federation, there are some 70,000 pieces of debris 10 times that size in outer space.

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While commending the work of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, which is one year into a three-year work plan on space debris, many countries -- including Turkey, China, Philippines, Czech Republic, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Kazakstan, Republic of Korea and Indonesia -- stressed the importance of developing strategies to minimize the potential impact of debris on future space missions and to prevent the further pollution of space.

The report of the Subcommittee, as approved by the Committee, includes a preliminary technical report on the measurement of space debris. This looks at existing and planned capabilities of States for ground- and space-based measurement, as well as the extent of cataloguing and database activities. It also describes and categorizes observed damage to space systems caused by debris. In 1997, the Subcommittee's work plan calls for it to examine methods of modelling the debris environment and to compare the predictions of short- and long-term models. In 1998, it is charged with studying mitigation measures.

The Russian Federation, which made a slide presentation on its national research on space debris, called for expanded international cataloguing activities to assist in risk-reduction for space systems. The Czech Republic urged research on the feasibility of de-orbiting and re-orbiting defunct space objects, noting that such objects carried the risk of colliding among themselves and breaking into smaller particles.

The Republic of Korea proposed that a "launcher pays" principle, along the lines of the "polluter pays" principle in international environmental law, be adopted as one of the fundamental elements of a legal regime aimed at reducing space debris. Launching States would pay a fee that would be used to fund research on debris mitigation. Kazakstan felt that the ITU should take into account the extent of States' participation in debris cataloguing activities when assigning orbital frequencies to their satellites.

Definition and Delimitation of Outer Space

Eleven replies have been received to the questionnaire on aerospace objects which the Committee approved last year in an effort to clarify issues concerning the definition and delimitation of outer space. That questionnaire looks at States' perceptions of legal norms that should apply to aerospace objects. (Aerospace objects, such as space shuttles, are those which can transit between sovereign air space and outer space, as distinct from satellites, which are launched directly into outer space.)

The Committee called this morning for the Secretariat to solicit further replies from States and to prepare a comprehensive analysis in time for next year's session.

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Geostationary Orbit

Debate continued at this session as to whether a special legal regime was needed to ensure equitable access to the geostationary orbit, which is located some 2,300 miles directly above the equator and is the only orbit that permits continuous contact between a satellite and a single ground station.

The Committee had before it a working paper submitted to the Legal Subcommittee by Colombia on "considerations concerning the utilization of the geostationary satellite orbit". This year's revision of the paper, which was originally prepared in 1993, suggests that the Legal Subcommittee prepare a draft text governing access to the geostationary satellite orbit in the bands and services not yet planned and regulated by the ITU.

Colombia would have the draft provide that, in cases where a developed and a developing country, or a country which has already had access to the orbit and one which has not, have equal claims to an orbital position, the former should defer to the latter. It would call for countries to ensure that their claims to frequencies and orbital positions conformed to ITU Radio Regulations and to the provisions of resolution 18 of the 1994 Kyoto Conference. Resolution 18 aims at discouraging countries from securing the assignment of orbital positions and frequencies from the ITU, and then failing to fill them with active satellites. The latter practice, referred to as "launching paper satellites", was cited by several speakers, including the Russian Federation, as a source of concern.

Finally, the Colombian text would call on States launching satellites to remove space debris and spent satellites from the geostationary orbit. The Czech Republic noted that methods for removing space debris from orbit were not yet available in low earth orbits, let alone in the geostationary orbit. Accordingly, while launching States could be asked to take steps to prevent the proliferation of debris, they could not yet be called on to remove it from the orbit.

Some Committee members, including Spain and Greece, advocated leaving the entire question to the ITU. Greece strongly opposed any special legal regime for the orbit, stressing that it must not be divorced from the other elements governed by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. France and the Czech Republic noted that the ITU had appointed two special working groups to study a broad range of related issues; they suggested that the Committee's work await the outcome of those studies. Others, such as Indonesia and the Russian Federation, supported Colombia's contention that the Committee could develop legal norms as a complement to the ITU's regulation of technical aspects of the orbit.

The Committee recommended that the Office for Outer Space Affairs be asked to cooperate with the ITU secretariat in preparing an analysis of the

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compatibility of the Colombian approach with ITU rules and procedures, for consideration at next year's session.

Nuclear Power Sources

The Committee agreed that the General Assembly's 1992 Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space remained valid, and that the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee should consider the need for revision in the light of changing technology before the Legal Subcommittee or the Committee took any action. The Legal Subcommittee's working group on the subject remains suspended, pending the outcome of consideration by the other Subcommittee.

There was some discussion during the session of a working paper prepared for the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee in 1994 by the United Kingdom, which suggested a need to update the 1992 Principles in the light of technological advances and of refinements in the elaboration of safety principles for land-based nuclear power sources. Turkey endorsed the paper's emphasis on the need for those carrying out nuclear activities to adopt a "safety culture", but suggested that its references to safeguards and to "tolerable levels" of risk needed to be clarified. Indonesia was also concerned that the principles be kept consistent with new recommendations on radiation safety.

The Russian Federation suggested that adoption of supplementary principles, rather than revision of existing principles, would be the appropriate way to address new technological concerns, should States resume the practice of launching nuclear power sources into space.

Spin-off Benefits Committee members shared information on a variety of advances pertaining to secondary, or "spin-off", benefits of space technology. Bulgaria reported the development of a portable ultra-violet monitor, while the United States described a portable fetal monitor that had been developed as an offshoot of equipment designed originally for use in spacecraft. China had developed honeycomb fire-proof insulation material, while a United States company was marketing a lightweight cutter used by firefighters and emergency rescue workers to sever metal. Canada described adaptations of space technologies to such uses as nuclear waste facility clean-up, mining and flight simulators, crop monitoring, ship navigation and water management.

The Committee agreed that in promoting spin-off applications and benefits, particularly for developing countries, it was important that each country have the capacity to understand the technology and develop it further. It also agreed that developing countries should enhance their potential in basic and advanced research in order to promote capacity-building for space applications and to benefit from spin-offs of space technology.

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Maintaining Outer Space for Strictly Peaceful Purposes

The Russian Federation pointed to the need for a practical review of the current legal regime to see if it provided for all security considerations that might arise in outer space. It was concerned over the dual use (civilian and military) of some space technologies. Others, including Pakistan and Mexico, urged the establishment of working contacts between the Committee and the Conference on Disarmament. The United States, however, stressed that no vision of the Committee's future should include any role in any aspect of disarmament.

Proposals for New Topics

The Legal Subcommittee had received three proposals for new agenda items. Of these, the Czech Republic proposed a review of existing norms of international law applicable to space debris. Chile urged a comparison of the norms of space law with those of international environmental law. Mexico, noting a low level of adherence to the five international legal instruments relating to outer space (there have been only nine ratifications and five signatures to the 1979 Agreement on the Moon, for example), suggested a review of their status.

During the session, Spain suggested that the Legal Subcommittee undertake a comparative study of the provisions of the Law of the Sea and international space law. Greece proposed a review of the Principles on direct broadcasting and remote sensing, respectively, with a view to their possible transformation into treaty form. Germany sought an analysis of the factors contributing to States' non-adherence to existing treaties, with a view to exploring ways to increase the number of States parties.

At length, the Committee recommended that the Subcommittee come up next year with an agreed list of annotated items that could be considered by the Committee for possible inclusion in the Subcommittee's agenda for 1998.

New Observer Organization

An additional non-governmental organization -- the Planetary Society -- was granted observer status at this session. The Society, which has some 100,000 members in more than 100 countries, conducts research projects and public information programmes to encourage the exploration of the solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life.

Officers

Officers of the Committee are: Peter Hohenfellner (Austria), Chairman; Dumitru Mazilu (Romania), Vice-Chairman; and Edgard Telles Ribeiro (Brazil), Rapporteur.

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Participation

Committee members attending the session were: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakstan, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela and Viet Nam.

Participating as observers were: Azerbaijan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Guatemala, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic, Thailand and United Arab Emirates. Representatives of the Holy See and Palestine also attended.

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