United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

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United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
AbbreviationCOPUOS
Formation12 December 1959(64 years ago) (1959-12-12)
Legal statusActive
Headquarters Vienna, Austria
Head
Chairperson
Marius-Ioan Piso
Parent organization
United Nations General Assembly
Website www.unoosa.org/
oosa/en/ourwork/
copuos/index.html
A coloured voting box.svg Politicsportal

The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is a United Nations committee whose main task is to review and foster international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, as well as to consider legal issues arising from the exploration of outer space. [1] [2]

Contents

The committee currently has 102 members who meet annually in Vienna, Austria at the Vienna International Centre in June. Additionally, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee tends to meet in February, while the Legal Subcommittee usually meets in April. [2]

Member States of the committee, as of 2022. United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Members.svg
Member States of the committee, as of 2022.

History

The UN's interest in the peaceful uses of outer space was first expressed in 1957, soon after the launching of the first Sputnik. Its main concern was that space should be used for peaceful purposes and that the benefits from space activities be shared by all nations. Thus, on 13 December 1958, the General Assembly created an ad hoc Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space composed of 18 members who were tasked with reporting to the Assembly about the activities and resources of the UN, its specialized agencies and other international bodies relating to the peaceful uses of outer space. [3]

The next year, on 12 December 1959, the ad hoc committee was established as a permanent body by the General Assembly with its membership being further increased to 24. It retained the same mission of its predecessor – to review international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. [4]

As the subsequent Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union heightened, the international community quickly became concerned that space could be used for military purposes. As a result of disagreements between the US and the USSR, the committee did not meet again until March 1962 after the General Assembly compelled it to via Resolution 1721 (XVI). [5] [6] The committee's two subcommittees also met in May and June to discuss scientific, technical and legal questions. These subcommittees were in unanimity with respect to various scientific and technical questions while failing to come to an agreement on legal questions. [5]

Resolution 1721 also further cemented the committee's role in preserving space for peaceful purposes. It stated that international law and the UN Charter applied in outer space and directed the committee to study and report on legal problems arising from space exploration. It directed all states to inform the committee of all launches into space for the UN's public registry. It directed the committee to keep close contact with governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with space matters, as well as to act as an exchange of information relating to space activities. Finally, it directed the committee to review reports of the World Meteorological Organization and the International Telecommunication Union in regard to outer space activities relating to weather research and analysis and telecommunication and to submit its comments and recommendations on these reports to the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly. [6] [7] Thus the committee aimed to prevent space from becoming a new frontier for conflict. This gave the committee the unique position of acting as a platform for maintaining outer space for peaceful purposes at the international level. [8]

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has acted as the secretariat to the committee since its creation in 1958. It also provides secretariat services to the committee's subcommittees. [7] [9] All documents related to the committee and its subcommittees are published by UNOOSA. [10]

Treaties and agreements

COPUOS oversees[ clarification needed ] the implementation of five UN treaties and agreements relating to activities in outer space: [11]

COPUOS also keeps track of the following other international agreements relating to activities in outer space: [12]

General
Institutions

Near-Earth object deflection and disaster response

The Association of Space Explorers (ASE), working in conjunction with B612 Foundation members, helped obtain UN oversight of near-Earth object (NEO) tracking and deflection missions through COPUOS along with its Action Team 14 (AT-14) expert group. Several members of B612 and ASE have worked with COPUOS since 2001 to establish international involvement for both impact disaster responses, and on deflection, missions to prevent impact events. [13] As explained by B612 Foundation Chair Emeritus Rusty Schweickart in 2013, "No government in the world today has explicitly assigned the responsibility for planetary protection to any of its agencies". [14]

In October 2013, the UN committee approved several measures to deal with terrestrial asteroid impacts, including the creation of an International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) to act as a clearinghouse for shared information on dangerous asteroids and for any future terrestrial impact events that are identified. A UN Space Missions Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG) will also coordinate joint studies of the technologies for deflection missions, and as well provide oversight of actual missions. This is due to deflection missions typically involving a progressive movement of an asteroid's predicted impact point across the surface of the Earth (and also across the territories of uninvolved countries) until the NEO has been deflected either ahead of, or behind the planet at the point their orbits intersect. [15] Schweickart states that an initial framework of international cooperation at the UN is needed to guide the policymakers of its member nations on several important NEO-related aspects. [16] [17]

At about the same time (Oct 2013) of the UN's policy adoption in New York City, Schweickart and four other ASE member, including B612 head Ed Lu and strategic advisers Dumitru Prunariu and Tom Jones, participated at a public forum moderated by Neil deGrasse Tyson not far from the UN's headquarters, urging the global community to adopt further important steps towards planetary defense against the threat of NEO impacts. Their recommendations included: [13] [16]

The first meetings of IAWN and SMPAG were held in 2014. [18]

Member states

The committee was first established by the General Assembly in its resolution 1348 (XIII) of 13 December 1958 and was originally composed of 18 members. It has grown to include 92 members as of 2019, and is subsequently one of the largest committees of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The evolution of the composition of the committee is as follows: [3] [19]

YearNumber of membersMembersNotes
1958
18
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina , Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia , Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium , Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil , Canadian Red Ensign (1957-1965).svg  Canada , Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia , Flag of France.svg  France , Flag of India.svg  India , State Flag of Iran (1925).svg  Iran , Flag of Italy.svg  Italy , Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt ,Flag of Japan.svg  Japan , Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico , Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland , Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden , Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union , Flag of the United Arab Republic.svg  United Arab Republic , Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom , Flag of the United States.svg  United States [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 4]
1959
24
Flag of Albania (1946-1992).svg  Albania , Flag of Austria.svg  Austria , Flag of Bulgaria (1971-1990).svg  Bulgaria , Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary , Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon , Flag of Romania (1952-1965).svg  Romania
1961
28
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad , Flag of the People's Republic of Mongolia (1945-1992).svg  Mongolia , Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco , Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone
1973
37
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile , Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany , Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany , Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia , Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya , Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria , Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan , Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan , Flag of Venezuela (1954-2006).svg  Venezuela [lower-alpha 5] [lower-alpha 6]
1977
47
Flag of Benin (1975-1990).svg  Benin , Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon , Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia , Flag of Ecuador (1900-2009).svg  Ecuador , Flag of Iraq (1963-1991); Flag of Syria (1963-1972).svg  Iraq , Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands , Flag of Niger.svg  Niger , Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines , Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey , Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia [lower-alpha 7]
1980
53
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China , Flag of Greece.svg  Greece , Flag of Spain (1977-1981).svg  Spain , Flag of Syria.svg  Syria , Flag of Upper Volta.svg  Upper Volta , Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay , Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam [lower-alpha 8]
1994
61
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba , Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan , Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia , Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua , Flag of Peru.svg  Peru , Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea , Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal , Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa , Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
2001
64
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia , Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia
2002
65
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria
2004
67
Flag of Libya (1977-2011).svg  Libya , Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand [lower-alpha 9]
2007
69
Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia , Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland
2010
70
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia
2011
71
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan
2012
74
Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia , Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica , Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan
2013
76
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus , Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana
2014
77
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg
2015
83
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador , Flag of Israel.svg  Israel , Flag of Oman.svg  Oman , Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar , Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka , Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates
2016
84
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
2017
87
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain , Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark , Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
2018
92
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus , Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia , Flag of Finland.svg  Finland , Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius , Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay
2019
95
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic , Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda , Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore
2021
100
Flag of Angola.svg  Angola , Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh , Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait , Flag of Panama.svg  Panama , Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia
2022
102
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala , Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan
  1. After Czechoslovakia's break up, its seat was taken up by the Czech Republic. Slovakia would later re-join in 2001.
  2. After the Soviet Union's break up, its seat was taken up by the Russian Federation. Kazakhstan and Ukraine would later re-join in 1994. Azerbaijan would re-join in 2011. Armenia would re-join in 2012. Belarus would re-join in 2013.
  3. After the United Arab Republic's break up, its seat was taken up by Egypt. Syria would re-join in 1980
  4. After the Iranian Revolution, Iran's seat was taken up by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
  5. The German seat was combined after German reunification.
  6. After Sudan's break up, South Sudan left the committee.
  7. Since Yugoslavia's break up, none of its successor states have joined the committee.
  8. Upper Volta would later become Burkina Faso.
  9. After the fall of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, its seat was taken over by the State of Libya.

Permanent observers

In addition to the committee's member states, a number of international organizations, including both intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, have observer status with COPUOS and its subcommittees. The following is a list of the committee's observers, with the year they were granted that status: [20]

YearMembers
1962
1972
1976
1985
1986
1990
1993
1995
1996
1997
2001
2002
2003
2005
  • European Space Policy Institute (ESPI)
2007
  • African Organization of Cartography and Remote Sensing (AOCRS)
2008
2009
  • The Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO)
2010
2011
  • Association of Remote Sensing Centres in the Arab World (ARSCAW)
2012
  • Ibero-American Institute of Aeronautic and Space Law and Commercial Aviation
  • Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP)
2013
  • Inter Islamic Network on Space Sciences and Technology (ISNET)
2014
  • African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE)
2016
2017
2018

Bureau

The following is the Bureau of the committee for its 65th Session, which ran from 1–10 June 2020. The Bureau was selected through formal written procedures after consultation with the Secretariat. [21] [22]

NameCountryPosition
Omran SharafFlag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates Chair
Jenni TapioFlag of Finland.svg  Finland First Vice-Chair
Oleg VentskovskyFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Second Vice-Chair and Rapporteur
Juan Francisco FacettiFlag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay Chair of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee
Nomfuneko MajajaFlag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Chair of the Legal Subcommittee

See also

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References

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