COMMITTEE ON PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE TO HOLD FORTIETH SESSION IN VIENNA, 2 - 13 JUNE
Press Release
OS/1728
COMMITTEE ON PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE TO HOLD FORTIETH SESSION IN VIENNA, 2 - 13 JUNE
19970529 Background Release To Consider Objectives and Agenda of 1999 UNISPACE III Conference, Elect New Bureau for First Time since 1959 Establishment of Committee(Reissued as received.)
VIENNA, 29 May (UN Information Service) -- Finalizing the date and detailed agenda of a third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III) will be the main topic of discussion for the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space during a two-week session which begins here on 2 June.
As a result of some four years of discussions, the General Assembly has already endorsed the proposal to hold a third UNISPACE in the form of a special session of the Committee open to all 185 Member States of the United Nations. That innovative method to deal with issues of global concern will make rational use of existing resources without the costs of a global conference of the nature that the United Nations has used previously. The 61-member Committee has been entrusted by the Assembly to act as a preparatory body for UNISPACE III. The upcoming session is expected to endorse further details concerning the agenda and organization of the Conference, which is proposed to be held in Vienna in July 1999.
For the first time since its establishment in 1959, the Committee will see a change in the geographical distribution of posts in its bureau, which comprises of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman and the Rapporteur. As a result of a delicate political agreement reached under the cold war climate, the chairmanship of the Committee has been held by Austria, the vice-chairmanship by Romania, while Brazil provided the rapporteur for all previous sessions. As the work of the Committee has become less politicized since the end of the cold war, the members agreed to a traditional United Nations format of a rotating bureau.
The current session is expected to formally elect India for the chairmanship, Chile for the first vice-chairmanship and Morocco for the second vice-chairmanship and rapporteur, for the next three years. The bureau is instrumental in conducting the work of the Committee by providing guidance and leadership especially during the sessions of the Committee. Germany will
retain the chairmanship of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Czech Republic will retain the chairmanship of the Legal Subcommittee.
The Committee will review both the scientific and technical, as well as the legal, aspects of the exploration and the peaceful uses of outer space, based on the reports of its Scientific and Technical and its Legal Subcommittees.
Through the general exchange of views, the session will provide an opportunity for all participating governments to give account of their recent space-based activities and to exchange views on how best to share the benefits of space research. The priority item, ways and means of maintaining outer space for peaceful purposes, will provide the framework for the Committee to review ongoing efforts for enhancing cooperation among space-based and non-space-based powers in sharing, in the widest possible ways, the outcome of the latest research in the peaceful application of space technology ranging from disaster mitigation to satellite remote-education.
In that regard, major focus will be given to the United Nations Programme on Space Applications which plays a central role in bringing the many practical benefits of space science and technology to developing countries, for which satellites represent a vital low-cost alternative to conventional technologies. The present range of applications encompass the fields of health care, education, environmental management, science and technology research, food security and natural resource development.
As part of its multi-year work plan on space debris -- spent satellites and the fragments and small particles resulting from collisions and impacts in space -- the Committee, based on the report of its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, will review practices and developments within the scientific and engineering community regarding computer modelling of the space debris environment and risk assessment. Findings are to be published in a comprehensive report on all aspects of space debris, from measurement to prevention and cleaning-up of the space environment, at the conclusion of a multi-year work plan due to end in 1998.
Other agenda items include the use of nuclear power sources in space, questions concerning access to and use of the geostationary orbit, developments in life sciences and space medicine and remote sensing of the earth environment with particular emphasis on applications of benefit to developing countries.
As a new focus of attention for the immediate future, the Committee is expected to approve a proposal by its Legal Subcommittee to have, as a new agenda item for that subsidiary body, a review of the current status of the five international treaties governing outer space. According to the proposal, the review is to be concluded before the turn of the century. The
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recommendation comes in light of the dramatic advances both in technology and in the nature of activities taking place in the space environment, thus making it imperative to ensure the fullest possible adherence to the outer space treaties by the international community.
Background on Outer Space Committee
The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 to review the scope of international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, to devise programmes in that field to be undertaken under United Nations auspices, to encourage continued research and dissemination of information on outer space matters, and to study legal problems arising from the exploration or outer space.
Since it began meeting in 1961, the Committee and its two subcommittees have addressed such questions as the implications of space transport systems for future activities in space, the legal implications of remote sensing of the earth by satellites, safety measures for the use of nuclear power sources in outer space and the equitable use of the geostationary orbit.
In 1966, the General Assembly adopted the Outer Space Treaty, which entered into force in 1968. The basic principles contained in the Treaty were later elaborated by the Committee in four other legal instruments: Rescue Agreement (1967), Liability Convention (1971), Registration Convention (1974), and Moon Agreement (1979). The Committee has also negotiated the Direct Broadcasting Principles (1982), Remote Sensing Principles (1986), Principles on the Use of Nuclear Power Sources (1992) and the Declaration of Principles on Outer Space Benefits (1996).
UNISPACE III
After nearly four years of discussions, the General Assembly last year recommended that a third UNISPACE Conference, held as a special session of the Committee and open to all Member States of the United Nations, should take place in Vienna, preferably in 1999. The Assembly designated the Committee and its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee as a Preparatory and Advisory Committee to the Conference.
The current session of the Committee will review the proposals of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee concerning the objectives, agenda, venue and date for the UNISPACE III Conference. The primary objective of the Conference, which will reflect the significant advances in space activities since the last UNISPACE Conference was held in 1982, would be to promote effective means of using space technology to assist in the solution of problems of regional or global significance and to strengthen the capabilities of Member States, in particular developing countries, to use the applications of space research for economic, social and cultural development.
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A further objective of the Conference would be to consider ways of using space applications to promote sustainable development. The Subcommittee, in its report to the session, recommends that developing countries be encouraged to participate and that the least developed countries be provided with assistance to enable them to join in pursuing the objectives of UNISPACE III. Developing countries should be provided with opportunities to define their needs for space applications for development purposes in advance of the Conference. Towards that end, the Subcommittee approved holding a series of preparatory workshops and seminars.
Further UNISPACE III objectives, according to a secretariat report, would be to promote international cooperation in space technology and applications, and to increase awareness among the general public regarding the benefits of space technology. The Conference would also serve as a forum for a critical evaluation of space activities and to work out an Action Plan providing guidance for international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space for the twenty-first century.
The Vienna-based United Nations Office for Outer Space was assigned by the Assembly to act as the executive secretariat of UNISPACE III.
Space Applications
As the focal point of United Nations activities regarding outer space and as a forum for guiding international cooperation in space technology and research, the Committee has as its priority task to ensure that all nations have access to and share the benefits of space research and technology. The activities of the United Nations Space Applications Programme aim at fulfilling that mandate. The Committee will review the activities organized by the Programme in 1996 and 1997, as well as the proposed activities for the next year which include workshops, seminars and training courses in various countries. The activities proposed for 1998 will also serve as preparatory meetings for UNISPACE III.
The Programme was established by the Assembly in 1971 to assist developing countries in training personnel and developing indigenous capabilities in order to employ modern technologies in their economic and social development plans. The Programme originated from the first UNISPACE Conference held in Vienna in 1968 and was further strengthened by UNISPACE 82. Current priority is given to strengthening the capabilities of developing countries in the use of space technology for economic and social sustainable development.
Space Debris
Hazards posed by space debris -- defunct satellites and fragments of various man-made space objects that pose a high collision risk, especially in
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the crowded geostationary orbit -- continue to be a priority issue. The Committee will review the relevant work of its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, which has made substantial progress as a result of a multi-year work plan. As a first phase of the plan, last year, the attention was focused on locating and measuring space debris. The current report of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee concentrates on the "modelling" of the space debris environment and risk assessment.
Space debris models provide a mathematical description of the distribution of objects in space, their movement and flux and physical characteristics. Computer modelling to assess the orbital debris environment and predict its effect on future space operations is under way in the scientific and engineering community. Short-term collision risk assessment models encompassed time-frames up to 10 years and long-term models up to 100 years. Using such models, it is possible not only to compute impact probability and their subsequent consequences, but also to design spacecraft with specially positioned shielding to withstand impacts from individual objects and debris clouds, and to carry out avoidance manoeuvres.
Geostationary Orbit
The geostationary orbit, some 22,300 miles above the Equator, is the only orbit which allows continuous contact between a satellite and a single ground station. Its strategic position, in terms of telecommunications and broadcasting, is, therefore, unique and the orbit is widely recognized as a vital resource for the economic, social and cultural development of all States. The Legal Subcommittee has discussed access to and use of the geostationary orbit for decades, and has been unable to reach the required consensus to make any decisions concerning its legal status and regulation. The issue has been further complicated by the fact that some equatorial States argue that their geographical location gives them a greater claim to the use of the orbit than other States.
The current session of the Committee has before it the report of its Legal Subcommittee which at its last session took important steps to break the impasse between States regarding the legal status of the geostationary orbit by working on a draft General Assembly resolution to be placed before the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) later this year. It requests Member States of the ITU to ensure equitable access to and efficient use of the orbit for all States, taking into account the special needs of developing countries. The recommendation, stemming from a draft resolution tabled by Germany, if adopted and sent for approval to the General Assembly, could possibly bring discussions within the Legal Subcommittee about the geostationary orbit to a positive and constructive end for the time being, allowing discussions on the issue to be suspended at least until after UNISPACE III.
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Review of Space Treaties
The Committee, in reviewing the work of its Legal Subcommittee, will discuss a recommendation to have the Subcommittee add, to its agenda, from its 1998 session, a new item on reviewing the status of five international treaties governing outer space. The new agenda item, if approved, would come as a result of a working paper submitted by Mexico.
The Mexican paper, which presented a summary of the latest information regarding ratification of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the 1968 Rescue Agreement, the 1972 Liability Convention, the 1975 Registration Convention and the 1979 Moon Agreement, reflected concerns that ratification of those instruments was, as yet, far from universal. The Moon Treaty, for example, had received only nine ratifications. Under the Mexican text, the General Assembly would call on States to submit reports making it possible to identify the reasons for not having achieved ratification of the instruments and the Legal Subcommittee would use the information supplied to work towards achieving the fullest possible adherence to the five outer space treaties.
Membership
Based on the decision of the General Assembly, the Committee and its Subcommittees are composed of the following 61 Member States: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam and Yugoslavia.
Cuba and Peru and the Republic of Korea and Malaysia hold rotating membership.
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