OUTER SPACE COMMITTEE ELECTS NEW BUREAU FOR FIRST TIME SINCE ITS 1959 ESTABLISHMENT
Press Release
OS/1729
OUTER SPACE COMMITTEE ELECTS NEW BUREAU FOR FIRST TIME SINCE ITS 1959 ESTABLISHMENT
19970606(Reissued as received.)
VIENNA, 2 June (UN Information Service) -- U.R. Rao (India) has been elected as the new Chairman of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space as it opened its fortieth session here this afternoon. The Committee also elected Raimundo Gonzalez (Chile) as first Vice-Chairman and Mohammed M. Kabbaj (Morocco) as second Vice-Chairman and Rapporteur.
This is the first time since its establishment in 1959 that the Committee is changing the geographical distribution of posts in its bureau, which comprises 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 bureau is instrumental in conducting the work of the Committee by providing guidance and leadership especially during the sessions of the Committee.
The new Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Rao, is an internationally known space science expert who started his career as a cosmic ray scientist and made valuable contributions to the understanding of interplanetary physics and high energy astronomy. He was responsible for the establishment of the Indian Space Programme. For the past three decades he has been an active space expert for the Committee's space application programme especially in the areas of communication, distance education, remote sensing and was responsible for the launching of the Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development. Currently, he holds the Dr. Vikram Sarabhai professorship at the Department of Space for the Government of India. He is also a member of several international space institutes and commissions, as well as the author of over 250 scientific and technical papers and three books.
- 2 - Press Release OS/1729 6 June 1997
The new Vice-Chairman, Mr. Gonzalez, is an international legal space expert who has represented his country at the various sessions of the Committee and its Legal Subcommittee since 1982. He served as the President of the Group of 77 countries at the 1991 Graz session of the Committee. During his career, he served in several diplomatic functions as a representative of his country. As a professor of the Catholic University of Chile and the Institute for International Studies of the University of Chile, he lectured on international space law. He has also served as an adviser to the Director on Space Policy of Chile. He is also the author of numerous articles dealing with the international legal aspects of space exploration.
The new Rapporteur, Mr. Kabbaj, has been the representative of Morocco for the sessions of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee since 1992. He is a professor at the International Space University. During his career he worked as a project manager in mechanical and civil engineering, remote sensing and space technology. He has been serving as Chairman of his country's National Committee on Space Remote Sensing and as the Honorary Vice-President of the Moroccan National Geographic Association. He is also a member of several international space institutions and associations. His publications include over 60 different papers on space technology and space policy.
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