The United Nations Committee on the Use of Peaceful Space (COPUOS) was established in 1959 (shortly after the launch of Sputnik) as an ad hoc committee. In 1959, it was formally established by UN resolution 1472 (XIV).
The mission of COPUOS is "to review the scope of international cooperation in the peaceful use of outer space, to design a program in this field to be undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations, to encourage further research and dissemination of information on aerospace matters, and to study legal matters arising from space exploration. "
The United Nations Office of Foreign Affairs (UNOOSA) is the Secretariat of the Committee. All documents relating to the Committee and its subcommittee, Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and Legal Subcommittee, may be found on the UNOOSA website.
The United Nations involvement in space-related activities can be traced back to the beginning of the Space Race. After the first man-made object to orbit the Earth in 1957, the UN has focused on ensuring the outer space is used for peaceful purposes. The launch of Sputnik marks the beginning of the Space Race as well as the early use of satellites for the advancement of science.
When the Cold War began, the fear of the Space was used for military purposes that spread through the international community. This led to the creation of several organizations with a view to regulating how outside space can be used to ensure it does not become the next boundary for conflict.
Video United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
Histori
In 1958, the United Nations established a Committee on Peaceful Space Use that originally consisted of 18 members: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Sweden , Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Republic, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and United States of America.
In 1959, the United Nations established the Committee on the Use of Outer Space in a peaceful and growing way to engage 24 countries (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lebanon and Romania.) COPUOS's main focus is to promote cooperation in peaceful use outdoor space, and sharing information about outer space and exploration.
In 1962, two COPUOS subcommittees: Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and Legal Subcommittee meet for the first time and continue to do so every year.
Maps United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
Agreement and agreement
COPUOS oversees the implementation of five UN treaties and agreements relating to space activities:
- "Space Agreement" - Agreement on Principles Governing State Activities in Space Exploration and Use, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
- "Rescue Agreement" - Astronaut Rescue Agreement, Astronaut Return, and Returns the Launched Objects into Space
- "Obligation of the Convention" - Convention on International Obligation for Damage Caused by Space Objects
- "Registration Convention" - Object Registration Convention Launched into Outer Space
- "Moon Treaty" - Agreement Governing Country Activities on the Moon and Other Celestial Objects
COPUOS also tracks other international agreements relating to space activities:
- General
- The Treaty Prohibits Nuclear Weapons Testing in Atmosphere, Space and Under Water (NTB)
- Conventions Associated with Satellite Transmitter Distribution Program (BRS) Distribution
- Institution
- Agreement relating to the International Telecommunication Satellite Organization (ITSO)
- Agreement on the establishment of the International System and Organization of Space Communications (INTERSPUTNIK)
- Convention for the establishment of the European Space Agency (ESA)
- Arab Interpolation Agreement for Space Communications (ARABSAT)
- Cooperation Agreement on Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purpose (INTERCOSMOS)
- Convention on International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO)
- The Convention establishes the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (EUTELSAT)
- Convention for the establishment of the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)
- The Constitution and the International Telecommunication Convention (ITU)
- The UN delegation briefed their country's policy makers on the latest UN role,
- by making each country's government design an established asteroid disaster mitigation plan, assigning fiscal resources to deal with asteroid impacts, and delegating key agents to address its disaster response to create a clear communication path from IAWN to affected countries ,
- have their government support the efforts of ASE and B612 to identify the NEO "killer-city" that is capable of affecting Earth, estimated at about a million, by spreading a space-based asteroid telescope, and
- enacted member states to launch the international deflection test mission within 10 years.
- 1959: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lebanon, Romania
- 1961: Chad, Mongolia, Morocco, Sierra Leone
- 1973: Chile, Federal Republic of Germany, Democratic Republic of Germany, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Venezuela
- 1977: Benin, Cameroon, Colombia, Ecuador, Iraq, Netherlands, Niger, Philippines, Turkey, Yugoslavia
- 1980: China, Greece, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Upper Volta, Uruguay, Vietnam
- 1994: Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Peru, Republic of Korea, Senegal, South Africa, Ukraine
- 2001: Saudi Arabia, Slovakia
- 2002: Algeria
- 2004: Libya Arab Jamahiriya, Thailand
- 2007: Bolivia, Switzerland
- 2010: Tunisia
- 2011: Azerbaijan
- 2012: Armenia, Costa Rica, Jordan
- 2013: Belarus, Ghana
- 2014: Luxembourg
- 2015: El Salvador, Israel, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates
- 2016: New Zealand
- 2017: Bahrain, Denmark, Norway
- The International Space Law Institute
- The Extraordinary Space Utilization Committee on the website of the United Nations Office for Outer Space, which serves as the secretariat for COPUOS
- Press Release: A Peaceful Space Shuttle Committee Concluding the 48th Session in Vienna, from June 20, 2005
- A slide show of COPUOS and other organizations on the United Nations Basic Science Initiative (UNBSSI) website
Concerns about ratification and enforcement
Both the former Soviet Union and the United States are engaged in "arms race" including weapons systems that function at low orbital altitudes; US President Ronald Reagan calls this "star war"; this raises serious concerns. Space-based weapons are explicitly forbidden; however, some nation-states with capacity for satellite launches are not members of the NPT, and have a poor record of disclosure of weapons, especially those of concern are the propensity towards Nuclear Ambiguity, and how policies may affect the current agreement. In 2017, with reports of "Sonic attacks" on US diplomatic mission staff in Cuba, the prohibition of space-based weapons systems is back on the radar.
Near-Earth object deflection and disaster response
The Association of Space Explorers (ASE), in collaboration with members of the B612 Foundation, helps gain UN oversight of the near-Earth object mission (NEO) tracking and deflection through COPUOS along with the expert group of Action Team 14 (AT-14). Several B612 and ASE members have been working with COPUOS since 2001 to establish good international engagement for the impact of the disaster response, and on deflection missions to prevent the impact of events. As Rusty Schweickart's B612 Foundation Chair Emeritus in 2013, "There is no government in the world today that explicitly assigns responsibility for planetary protection to one of its agencies".
In October 2013, the UN committee approved several steps to deal with the impact of terrestrial asteroids, including the establishment of the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) to act as a clearing house to share information on dangerous asteroids and for any identified future terrestrial impact events. A United Nations Space Assistance Advisory Advisory Group will also coordinate joint studies on technology for the deflection mission, and also provide oversight of the actual mission. This is due to a deflection mission that usually involves progressive movements from an asteroid impact point at the Earth's surface (as well as across non-involved state territories) until the NEO has been deflected either in front of, or behind the planet at the point of their orbits intersecting. Schweickart stated that the preliminary framework of international cooperation at the United Nations is needed to guide policymakers of its member states on some important aspects related to the NEO.
At about the same time as the adoption of United Nations policy in New York City, Schweickart and four other ASE members, including B612 Ed Lu chief and strategic adviser Dumitru Prunariu and Tom Jones, participated in a public forum moderated by Neil deGrasse Tyson not far from the Headquarters the United Nations, urged the global community to adopt yet another important step toward planetary defense against the threat of NEO's impact. Their recommendations include:
Member States
The ad hoc committee established by the General Assembly in its resolution 1348 (XIII) of 13 December 1958 consisted of representatives from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Sweden, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Republic, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and USA.
By 2017, the Committee has 87 members [1], and is one of the largest committees of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
The members of the Committee are: Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Germany, Hungary, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya , Luxembourg, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Vietnam
New Zealand submitted a request to join in June 2016. [2]
International organizations with permanent observer status
The following non-UN organizations have permanent observer status with the Committee:
References
External links
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