COMMITTEE ON PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE CONCLUDES FORTIETH SESSION IN VIENNA, 2-10 JUNE

Press Release
OS/1730

COMMITTEE ON PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE CONCLUDES FORTIETH SESSION IN VIENNA, 2-10 JUNE

(Reissued as received.)

VIENNA, 10 June (UN Information Service) -- Concluding its fortieth session three days ahead of schedule, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space today adopted its report to the General Assembly, which contains an agreement by Member States on the exact form, venue, time and objectives of a third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III).

During its session, began on 2 June, the Committee concentrated on finalizing the organizational agenda and related details of the planned third international conference on space-related issues. Discussion on the matter began four years ago, leading to last year's endorsement by the General Assembly of the holding of such a conference in the form of a special session of the Committee open to all 185 member States of the United Nations.

The Committee's agreement would have the special session held in Vienna, site of the previous two space conferences, for a period of up to 10 days during July 1999. The Committee also agreed that the primary objective of the UNISPACE III would be to promote effective means of using space technology to assist in the solution of regional and global problems and to strengthen the capabilities of Member States, particularly developing countries, to use the application of space research for economic, social and cultural development.

The current session of the 61-member Committee also saw a change in the geographical distribution of posts in its Bureau for the first time since 1959, using the traditional format of a rotating Bureau. It elected U.R. Rao (India) as Chairman, for a three-year period; Raimundo Gonzalez (Chile) as Vice-Chairman; and Mouslim Kabbaj (Morocco) as Rapporteur. Due to a delicate political agreement dating back to the cold war, all previous sessions of the Committee were chaired by Austria, with Romania as Vice-Chairman Brazil providing the Rapporteur.

Maintaining outer space for peaceful purposes continued to be a traditional high priority item for the Committee as it reviewed the space-based activities of member countries and discussed and endorsed ongoing efforts to enhance cooperation among space-based and non-space-based powers in sharing the outcome of the latest research in the peaceful application of space technology.

A review of spin-off benefits revealed that space technology could be used for the widest possible purposes, including peace-keeping and humanitarian assistance. Space research and the latest technological advancements in space provide new techniques in population studies, national economic development planning, disaster prediction and mitigation, geological prospecting, topographic mapping, agriculture and fishing, and literacy and family welfare programmes.

The Committee reviewed the scientific and technical as well as the legal aspects of the exploration and the peaceful uses of outer space, based on the work of its two subsidiary bodies: the Scientific and Technical and the Legal Subcommittees. Space debris and the use of the geostationary orbit were among the highlighted topics. The Committee also endorsed the proposal of its Legal Subcommittee to have, as a new agenda item for that subsidiary body from 1998, a review of the current status of the five international treaties governing outer space.

UNISPACE III

Following four years of discussion, the General Assembly last year endorsed the recommendation to have a third UNISPACE Conference held in the form of a special session of the Committee open to all members of the United Nations. The Assembly entrusted the Committee and its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee to act as the Preparatory and Advisory Committee for the Conference. It is in this capacity that the current session of the Committee reviewed and adopted the proposals of the Subcommittee dealing with the date, venue, objectives and provisional agenda of UNISPACE III.

The Committee agreed that the Conference should be held at the United Nations Office at Vienna for a period of up to ten days in July 1999. The form -- namely, that the Conference will be held as a special session of the Committee open to all members -- is an innovative, cost-effective method to use existing resources rather than opting for a more costly global conference. As regards costs, the proposals endorsed by the current session specifically stress that all efforts should be made to limit costs, and to keep within existing resources by reducing or curtailing the duration of sessions of the Committee and its subsidiary bodies during 1999.

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The Committee adopted the proposal to have "Space Benefits for Humanity in the Twenty-first Century" as the theme of UNISPACE III. The session also agreed that the primary objectives of the Conference would be to promote the use of space technology in solving regional and global problems and to strengthen the capabilities of countries, especially developing countries, to use the applications of space research for economic, social and cultural development.

Other objectives of the Conference are: to provide developing countries with an opportunity to define their needs for space applications for development purposes in advance of the Conference; to consider ways to use space technology to promote sustainable development; to address the various issues related to education, training and technical assistance in space science and technology and their applications aimed at the development of indigenous capabilities in all States; to provide a valuable forum for critical evaluation of space activities; to increase awareness among the general public regarding the benefits of space technology; and to strengthen international cooperation in space technology and application.

The Committee also agreed that as part of the preparations leading up to the Conference, consideration should be given to how private industry should be involved in the work of UNISPACE III.

The Vienna-based United Nations Office for Outer Space was assigned by the Assembly to act as the executive secretariat for UNISPACE III. At its current session, the Committee asked the Office to continue its work in preparing the draft reports for the Conference and in organizing the various preparatory meetings, workshops and seminars related to UNISPACE III, as well as to coordinate the participation of all other United Nations programmes and agencies.

Geostationary Orbit

Considerable discussion and informal consultations were devoted to the issue of the use of the geostationary orbit, within the framework of reviewing a draft proposal submitted by Germany during the session of the Legal Subcommittee. As a result of the discussions, the Committee acknowledged that its members were unable to reach a consensus on all elements of the draft text, as a result of which Germany withdrew the proposal.

The geostationary orbit, located some 22,300 miles above the Equator, is of special strategic importance -- especially from a telecommunications and broadcasting point of view -- as it is the only orbit which allows continuous contact between a satellite and a single ground station. Access and use of the orbit is therefore a vital issue that has been on the agenda of the Legal Subcommittee for decades. However the Subcommittee has been unable to reach

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the required consensus to make decisions concerning its legal status and regulation.

Germany's proposal would have had the Committee adopt a draft resolution for the Assembly, to be placed before the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), asking member States of the ITU to ensure equitable access to and efficient use of the orbit for all States. This would have suspended discussion of the issue within the Legal Subcommittee.

However, during the current session of the Committee, several developing countries were of the view that not all aspects of the discussion within the Legal Subcommittee had been exhausted. Therefore, they held, the geostationary orbit should remain an agenda item for the Subcommittee. The discussions and consultations also revealed that the draft proposal tabled by Germany was unable to bridge the gap between equatorial and non-equatorial countries. Some equatorial countries continue to maintain the view that the use of the geostationary orbit should be governed by a special legal regime.

Space Debris

The Committee stressed that the consideration of space debris -- defunct satellites and fragments of various man-made space objects that pose a high collision risk, especially in low earth orbit but also in the crowded geostationary orbit -- was important, and that international cooperation was needed to expand appropriate and affordable strategies to minimize the potential impact of space debris on future missions. The Committee called on Member States to pay more attention to the problem of collisions of space objects -- including those having nuclear power sources -- with space debris.

In reviewing the work of its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, the Committee stressed that it was important to have a firm scientific and technical basis for future action on the complex attributes of space debris. It called on its Subcommittee to focus on understanding all aspects of research relating to space debris, including debris measurement techniques, mathematical modelling of debris environment, and characterization of the space debris environment, as well as measures to mitigate the risks of space debris, including spacecraft design measures to protect against debris.

The Subcommittee is currently engaged in a multi-year work plan. As a first phase of that plan, its attention last year focused on locating and measuring space debris. The second phase of the plan, conducted in February 1997, concentrated on the modelling of debris environment, as well as on risk assessment.

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Review of Space Treaties

The Committee endorsed the recommendation of its Legal Subcommittee to have, as a new agenda item for the Subcommittee sessions starting in 1998 a review of the status of the five international treaties governing outer space. The recommendation, based on a proposal tabled by Mexico, reflects concerns by the Member States that the ratification and implementation of the five existing space treaties are far from universal. The five legal instruments are: the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the 1968 Rescue Agreement, the 1972 Liability Convention, the 1975 Registration Convention and the 1979 Moon Agreement.

Committee 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. Rotating membership are held by Cuba and Peru and by the Republic of Korea and Malaysia.

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