Draft Resolution on Transparency and Confidence-building Measures in Outer Space Activities Approved by the First Committee

November 2, 2008 at 7:28 pm | Posted in Space Law | Leave a comment

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The draft resolution on Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities (UN Doc. A/C.1/63/ L.44/Rev.1) was approved by the UN First Committee by a vote of 166 in favour to 1 against, with 1 abstention:

In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against: United States.

Abstain: Israel.

Absent: Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Namibia, Nauru, Palau, Philippines, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Republic of Tanzania.

From Roscosmos (via Google Translation):

01-11-2008 Russian draft resolution on space weapons endorsed by the UN

The Russian draft resolution of the UN General Assembly on confidence-building measures in outer space activities aimed at preventing an arms race in outer space, approved on Friday by the First Committee Organization (Political Affairs) by an overwhelming majority.

Resolution «Measures to ensure transparency and confidence building in space activity» supported by 166 delegations voted against the USA, Israel abstained. The adoption of a resolution in the First Committee, whose members are all countries of the UN, actually means its subsequent endorsement by the General Assembly, which must hold a vote on the document in December.

The draft resolution refers to the need for further measures to «agreements to prevent an arms race in outer space, including the weaponization of outer space». In addition, the document notes submitted by Russia and China at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament a draft treaty on preventing the weaponization of outer space, the use of force and threat of force against space objects, RIA “Novosti”.

The draft text:

Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 60/66 of 8 December 2005, 61/75 of 6 December 2006 and 62/43 of 5 December 2007,

Reaffirming that the prevention of an arms race in outer space would avert a grave danger to international peace and security,

Conscious that further measures should be examined in the search for agreements to prevent an arms race in outer space, including the weaponization of outer space,

Recalling, in this context, its previous resolutions, including resolutions 45/55 B of 4 December 1990 and 48/74 B of 16 December 1993, which, inter alia, emphasize the need for increased transparency and confirm the importance of confidence-building measures as a means conducive to ensuring the attainment of the objective of the prevention of an arms race in outer space,

Recalling also the report of the Secretary-General of 15 October 1993 to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session, the annex to which contains the study by governmental experts on the application of confidence-building measures in outer space,

Noting the constructive debate which the Conference on Disarmament held on this subject in 2008, including the views and ideas expressed by the European Union and other States,

Noting also the introduction by the Russian Federation and China at the Conference on Disarmament of the draft treaty on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space, and of the threat or use of force against outer space objects,

Noting further the contribution of Member States which have submitted to the Secretary-General concrete proposals on international outer space transparency and confidence-building measures pursuant to paragraph 1 of resolution 61/75 and paragraph 2 of resolution 62/43,

1. Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General containing concrete proposals from Member States on international outer space transparency and confidence-building measures;

2. Invites all Member States to continue to submit to the Secretary-General concrete proposals on international outer space transparency and confidence building measures in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting international cooperation and the prevention of an arms race in outer space;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session a report with an annex containing concrete proposals from Member States on international outer space transparency and confidence-building measures;

4. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-fourth session the item entitled “Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities”.