UN GA Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities

November 2, 2010 at 9:16 am | Posted in Space Law | Leave a comment

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

15 October 2010

United Nations

General Assembly

Sixty-fifth session First Committee Agenda item 97 (y) General and complete disarmament: transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities

A/C.1/65/L.38

10-58681 (E)

Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Viet Nam: draft resolution

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, 62/43 of 5 December 2007, 63/68 of 2 December 2008 and 64/49 of 2 December 2009,

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

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by governmental experts on the application of confidence-building measures in outer space,1

Noting the constructive debate which the Conference on Disarmament held on this subject in 2010, including the views expressed by Member States,

Noting also the introduction by China and the Russian Federation 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,2

Noting further the presentation by the European Union of a draft code of conduct for outer space activities,

Noting 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, paragraph 2 of resolution 62/43, paragraph 2 of resolution 63/68 and paragraph 2 of resolution 64/49,

1. Takes note of the final report of the Secretary-General containing concrete proposals from Member States on international outer space transparency and confidence-building measures;3

2. Requests the Secretary-General to establish, on the basis of equitable geographical distribution, a group of governmental experts to conduct a study, commencing in 2012, on outer space transparency and confidence-building measures, making use of the relevant reports of Secretary-General, including the final report, submitted to the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session, and without prejudice to the substantive discussions on the prevention of an arms race in outer space within the framework of the Conference on Disarmament, and to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session a report containing in its annex the study of governmental experts;

3. Also requests the Secretary-General to provide the group of governmental experts with any assistance and services, within existing resources, that may be required for the discharge of its tasks;

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

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1 A/48/305 and Corr.1. 2 See CD/1839. 3 A/65/123.