Positions hardened over two competing approaches to preventing an outer space arms race — one promoting responsible behaviours through voluntary commitments and the other calling for an early start of negotiations on a legally binding instrument — as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) concluded its thematic debate on the subject today.
Outer space is becoming a contest for supremacy, drawing on space-based communications and intelligence assets, and the early development of anti-satellite weaponry, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as its thematic debate opened on preventing an arms race in that realm.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development’s newly released Trade and Development Report 2023 warns of a stalling global economy this year, with growth slowing in most regions and only a few countries bucking the trend. The agency calls for a change in policy direction and institutional reforms to avert a lost decade.
In Syria, a United Nations cross-line convoy of 10 trucks carrying 220 metric tons of humanitarian assistance for 22,000 people crossed from Aleppo to Sarmada on 23 June. While an important complement, the cross-line operation cannot substitute cross-border aid that reaches 2.7 million Syrians each month.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Aarti Holla-Maini of the United Kingdom as Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), based in Vienna.
Today, on World No Tobacco Day, under the theme “Grow food, not tobacco”, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging Governments to stop subsidizing tobacco farming and support more sustainable crops that could feed millions.
In Chad, the United Nations, along with the Government and aid partners, today launched the 2023 humanitarian response plan, appealing for $674 million to help about 4.4 million people in need, with a focus on food security, health services and addressing the impacts of climate change.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), acting without a vote, approved two draft resolutions on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, including one that would have the General Assembly urge Member States to work towards averting an arms race in space while also paying more attention to the danger of space objects colliding.
Delegates from the Global South underscored the many ways in which space technology can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and called for greater efforts to that end, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued today its consideration of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.
With concerns growing about the weaponization of the heavens, speakers renewed calls today for a multilaterally negotiated and legally binding instrument to prevent an arms race in outer space, during a joint ad hoc meeting of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) and Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization).
