United Nations COPUOS/T.521

Committee on the Peaceful Unedited transcriptUses of Outer Space

521st MeetingThursday, 3 June 2004, 3 p.m.Vienna

UNREVISED ADVANCE COPY

Chairman: Mr. A. A. Abiodun (Nigeria)

The meeting was called to order at 3.10 p.m.

The CHAIRMAN: Good afternoon distinguished delegates and representatives, and I hope, even though some of us went out and some of stayed in, nevertheless you had some good lunch.

I now declare open the 521st meeting of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

This afternoon we shall continue and hopefully conclude our consideration of agenda item 5, General Exchange of Views. On this very subject, you all will recollect that before we adjourned for lunch I pleaded with you to please check with the Secretariat and indicate your desire to speak on this agenda item. The Secretariat has advised me that in order to be able to keep abreast of its own schedule of work, meaning the preparation of the report we are supposed to adopt here, we need to finish this particular item at the earliest opportunity. So according to the schedule they gave us, we are supposed to finish today. If there is any delegation that is interested in addressing this Committee on agenda item 5 and has not so indicated to the Secretariat, please come and indicate as soon as possible as we are speaking here now. If we are not able to able to take you this afternoon, we will take you up tomorrow and finish off but hopefully we finish this afternoon.

And as I mentioned to you also this morning, we will have the distinct pleasure of listening to Professor Vladimir Kopal of the Czech Republic who will deliver a special lecture on the development of the

Committee from a historical perspective and from his own personal reflections.

We will continue and also hopefully conclude consideration of agenda item 6, Ways and Means of Maintaining Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes.

Time permitting, we will also continue our consideration of agenda item 7, Implementation of the Recommendations of UNISPACE III.

At the conclusion of this afternoon’s meeting, there will be a presentation by Ukraine under agenda item 5 on “Prospective Directions of Activities and Projects of ‘Yuzhnoye’ SDO in Outer Space Exploration”.

Later, when I adjourn this afternoon’s meeting at approximately 5.00 p.m., we will all be given the floor for the Working Group on UNISPACE III + 5 Review to hold its second meeting. As I have indicated to all of you, this is a must for us, this is priority number one for this particular meeting. Please cooperate with our Chairman when he comes.

Lecture by Mr. Vladimir Kopal

On item 5, distinguished delegates, as was agreed by the Committee at its forty-sixth session last year, I now have the pleasure of inviting Mr. Vladimir Kopal of the Czech Republic to deliver his lecture. Then, the ____________(?) within here is brief Professor Kopal but I am not going to read them because I have my own that I have written in my head.

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In its resolution 50/27 of 6 December 1995, the General Assembly endorsed the recommendation of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space that, beginning with its thirty-ninth session, the Committee would be provided with unedited transcripts in lieu of verbatim records. This record contains the texts of speeches delivered in English and interpretations of speeches delivered in the other languages as transcribed from taped recordings. The transcripts have not been edited or revised.

Corrections should be submitted to original speeches only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and be sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned, within one week of the date of publication, to the Chief, Conference Management Service, Room D0708, United Nations Office at Vienna, P.O. Box 500, A-1400, Vienna, Austria. Corrections will be issued in a consolidated corrigendum.

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I first met Professor Kopal, and I think my calendar date might be wrong, but I think that was as far back as 1981. Professor Kopal then joined us in the originally known Outer Space Affairs Division which today we call the Office for Outer Space Affairs. We became known as the Office for Outer Space Affairs when I ejected, that is my own phrase, when I ejected from New York and we came at the invitation of Austria to come to Austria. And then Professor Kopal became the Chief of the Office in 1984, 1983?, 1983 and was our Chief until 1988 and he retired and went back home as Professor in one of the distinguished universities of the Czech Republic. I asked him yesterday, “are you still grading papers?”, because one of the most difficult issues of a teacher is to begin to grade papers and for the student to be smiling up or crying at you, whichever. You are having somebody who is not only an administrator, legal illuminary(?) but also an academician. He has served you ably as your Chairman in the Legal Subcommittee until this current Bureau took over. Professor Kopal has published widely in the field of space law and has been extremely instrumental in addressing the Legal Advisor to the IAF and has many other titles and portfolios and responsibilities but time will not permit me to reflect up except to identify the most cogent ones. So Professor Kopal, as your former junior officer in the Office for Outer Space Affairs, it is my distinct pleasure, Sir, to invite you to address this Committee on the subject of your own views and reflections on the Committee and the perspective you are going to give us. You have the floor Sir.

Mr. V. KOPAL (Czech Republic): Thank you Mr. Chairman for your giving me the floor and for your saying a few very friendly words about myself. Indeed, we worked together in the former Outer Space Affairs Division which later on was transformed into the present Office for Outer Space Affairs. But at the time when we cooperated there, I did not expect that some day I would have an opportunity to deliver a lecture to this Committee under your guidance as Chairman of this Committee. But as an old Latin proverb says “temperum mutantor______________ in elis” (not clear), it means in English perhaps, “times are changing and we change also with them”. So you are now Chairman of this Committee and I am your modest servant. I congratulate you on your election and wish you well in all your endeavours.

Last year, Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues and friends, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space invited me as the outgoing Chairman of its Legal Subcommittee to present to this Committee at its forty-seventh session a special lecture providing a historical perspective and

my personal reflection on the development of the Committee. Being a lawyer, who has specialized for 50 years in international law, my presentation will concentrate mostly on the legal part of the life and work of the Committee. But it will also take into due account the development of a wider framework of international cooperation in the space activities by the United Nations.

First, may I briefly recall the origin of the Committee and the beginning of its activities? Established first as an Ad Hoc Committee in 1958, the COPUOS became a permanent body just one year later by General Assembly resolution 1472 of 1959, so it is now the 45 years anniversary of the establishment of this Committee as a permanent body. At its beginning, the permanent Committee was composed of 24 members but later on grew up gradually to its present size of 65 States.

The emergence of COPUOS before the end of the 1950s did not occur by chance. Its establishment was furthered by the results of the international geophysical year, a complex programme of international cooperation in all aspects relating to this wide topic, under the scope of which the exploration of outer space by means of artificial satellites of Earth was also accomplished. And a similar development of international cooperation regarding scientific investigation in Antarctica, which led to the conclusion of the Antarctic Treaty on 1 December 1959, offered an example how to proceed with a similar task in the vast area of outer space. But unlike Antarctica, which at the time was the subject of interest of a rather limited number of States, space activities and the possible impact on the international relations of all States of the world, initiated the interest of the world community as a whole. Therefore, it was natural that it was up to the United Nations to assume the role of the leading world authority to take care of organizing international cooperation in this newly opened field.

Nonetheless, practical steps towards the development of substantive discussion on international space cooperation did not start immediately. It was a period of deep antagonism between the two then existing camps, the leading powers of which had the only potential to possess adequate space technologies. Two additional years had passed after the establishment of the COPUOS before the United Nations General Assembly, by its resolution 1721 of 1961, could set up a real programme for multilateral cooperation of Member States of the United Nations in the exploration and use of outer space. In that resolution, the common interest of mankind in furthering the peaceful uses of outer space and the

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urgent need to strengthen international cooperation in this important field was recognized. And the belief that the exploration and use of outer space should be only for the betterment of mankind and to the benefit of States, irrespective of the stage of their economic or scientific development, was spelt out. For these purposes, the United Nations General Assembly commended the first legal principles, namely that, (a) international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, applies to outer space and celestial bodies so that it should not be a legal vacuum; and (b) outer space and celestial bodies are free for exploration and use by all States in conformity with international law and are not subject to national appropriation. At the same time, the COPUOS was invited by the United Nations General Assembly to study and to report on the legal problems which may arise from the exploration and use of outer space.

In my opinion, ladies and gentlemen, it has been useful to quote the original language of that resolution in order to recognize its spirit and expectations which should have governed all further efforts in this field. At the same time, the international structure of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space crystallized. While COPUOS became the focal point for all space-related cooperative projects furthered by the United Nations, two Subcommittees, one legal and the other scientific and technical, were created for detailed considerations of specific proposals concerning scientific, technical and legal questions made by the COPUOS members. Both Subcommittees met simultaneously for the first time in Geneva on 28 May 1962 and then regularly every year. They have been composed of the same Member States as the main Committee and have, thus, become specialized sessions of the COPUOS itself.

As to the methods of work of the COPUOS, an important arrangement was reached within the Committee, according to which the decisions of the main Committee as well as of both Subcommittees, should be subject to agreement without need for voting. The COPUOS thus became the first United Nations body which started applying in its work at all its levels a principle of decision-making which has now been widely used in many other United Nations bodies and is now generally known as the rule of consensus.

Since the beginning of the work of the COPUOS and its Subcommittees, a large number of issues have been considered. In particular, the five international treaties and five sets of principles are usually recalled as the main outcome of the discussions in the legal area and, without doubt, these instruments as a whole offer an impressive picture of achievements

in the legal field. It would be beyond the aims of this presentation to analyze each of these instruments which have been commented in greater detail in textbooks on the law of outer space and in numerous monographs and articles on different issues thereof. Nevertheless, some of the general features of the United Nations space law, as these instruments are often called, should be mentioned here.

Since the very beginning of the development of the United Nations space law, the leading and mutually inter-related principles of the new legal regime for outer space activities have been: freedom of exploration and use of outer space and celestial bodies in conformity with international law, and non-appropriation of any part thereof by any States. As already mentioned earlier, these principles were first set forth in the General Assembly resolution 1721 in 1961. Two years later, they were re-stated in the 1963 Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space which started the legislative process in the COPUOS and its Legal Subcommittee. And four years after the adoption of the 1963 Declaration, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty transformed the recommendatory principles of the Declaration into legally binding provisions, developed then and added some other important rules, thus creating a solid basis for a legal regime for outer space. Today, when the drafting and adoption of a space legal document last usually a decade or even more, it may seem incredible that the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the most important instrument of the United Nations space law, was worked out during a few months, between May and December 1966. After a short diplomatic _________ (not clear – written statement also not clear), two sessions of the Legal Subcommittee were held in one year and some remaining controversial issues were surmounted by consultations between the most interested COPUOS members, guided by the first Chairman of the Legal Subcommittee, Professor Manfred Lachs of Poland, who later on became Judge and President of the United Nations International Court of Justice.

From among the principles of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, special attention should be drawn to its Article VI, which incorporated the principle of international responsibility of States for national space activities, whether such activities are carried out by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out in conformity with the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty. The wording of the principle emerged as a compromise formula which reconciled the then opposing views of those wishing to reserve

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space activities only to States and those advocating the access to outer space activities, in addition to governmental and intergovernmental agencies, to non-governmental entities. After all, negotiating States agreed to the participation of both the public and private subjects but the respective States assumed a direct responsibility not only for their own space activities but also for the activities of private persons of their nationality. This concept of national activities in outer space and international responsibility of States Parties to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty must be understood and interpreted in harmony with other principles of the Treaty, particularly its Article II, according to which outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty by means of use or occupation or by any other means.

During the period of 12 years following the entry into force of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, four other United Nations space treaties were concluded. The finalization of the 1968 Rescue Agreement was accelerated by a tragic event that occurred just on the day of signature of the Outer Space Treaty on 27 January 1967. This accident, however, happened on the surface of the home State and, therefore, the provisions of the new instrument, even if already in force, would not be applicable. Moreover, the 1968 Rescue Agreement has dealt almost exclusively with accidents in territories under and outside the jurisdiction of the State Parties and which the return of the personnel and space objects or their component parts and not specifically with assistance and rescue during the activities in outer space.

The third United Nations space treaty, the 1972 Liability Convention, has probably been the most interesting instrument from the legal point of view and would certainly require some more detailed comments. What should be said here at least is the specificity of solutions of the issues involved. Unlike similar instruments adopted in the field of air, maritime and atomic law, the characteristic feature of the 1972 Convention lies in the inter-State method of the settlement of disputes which prevails even if damage of and compensation to private persons should be at stake. However, the Convention does not provide it for a compulsory resolution of disputes relating to claims for compensation for damage because even if such a claim should be dealt with by a Claims Commission to be established after the failure of diplomatic negotiations, its decisions would be binding only if the parties to the dispute would so agree.

The fourth United Nations space treaty, the 1975 Registration Convention, implemented the

principle which had been declared in Article VIII of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. According to it, the jurisdiction and control over an object launched into outer space and over any personnel thereof shall be retained by the State Party to the Treaty on whose registry such an object is carried. Moreover, ownership of such objects is not affected by their presence in outer space or on a celestial body and such objects or component parts found to be beyond the limits of the State concerned on whose registry they are carried shall be returned to that State. In the Registration Convention, its States Parties agreed to register their space objects launched into outer space by means of an entry in an appropriate registry which they should maintain. Moreover, and this is important for the United Nations and this Committee, they agreed to establish a certain register for such objects to be maintained by the United Nations Secretary-General. In order to enable the United Nations Secretariat to act accordingly, each State on whose registry a space object is carried, shall furnish to the Secretary-General certain information, the format of which has been specified in the Registration Convention. The information requested was chosen to meet the need for satisfactory identification of space objects. It should be also mentioned that the Registration Convention enables each State of registry to provide additional information concerning a space object carried on its registry. This provision is particularly relevant in the cases of accidents caused by malfunctioning space objects and also in the cases of transfer of space objects to a different owner. Moreover, each State of registry is obliged to notify the United Nations Secretary-General of space objects which have been, but no longer are, in Earth’s orbit.

The drafters of the fifth legal instrument, the 1979 Moon Agreement, also elaborated on a number of principles of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty relating to the Moon and other celestial bodies. Those principles have been re-stated and completed for the purposes of building up a specific legal regime for the natural satellite of the Earth. But when negotiating the Moon Agreement, its drafters were not in a position to rely on the Outer Space Treaty when dealing with the issue of economic activities on the Moon because in this respect, the Outer Space Treaty remained mostly silent. An attempt to reach a generally acceptable compromise was made by joining the confirmation of the freedom of scientific investigation and the exploration and use of the Moon as a right of all States with a stipulation to establish an international regime governing the exploitation of the natural resources of the Moon, as such exploitation is about to become feasible. However, this solution has failed to attract so far the interest of many nations, as evident from the limited

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number of signatures and ratifications of the Moon Agreement up to date. Still, this instrument, as the other United Nations space treaties before, had been endorsed in the COPUOS and adopted by consensus in the United Nations General Assembly. The present unhappy status of the Moon Agreement is still more regrettable due to the fact that according to its Article I, the provisions of the 1979 Moon Agreement should also apply to other celestial bodies within the solar system, other than the Earth, except insofar as specific legal norms enter into force with respect to any of these celestial bodies. And we have now started to intensively explore another important celestial body, it is Mars.

Since 1979, the United Nations has not elaborated and concluded any new space treaty. It does not mean, however, that the efforts of the COPUOS for the progressive development of the legal regime for space activities have not continued. The United Nations returned to the practice of declaring space legal principles by resolutions of its General Assembly as it had been applied for the first time prior to the adoption of the five space treaties. But while the first such resolution had to initiate the international cooperation and to create a basis for the space legislation process, the establishing of a number of sets of principles by the United Nations General Assembly resolutions had to regulate some special categories of space activities. In this way, four sets of principles have been elaborated and adopted by General Assembly thus far, including the Principles Governing International Television Broadcasting in 1982, Remote Sensing of Earth from Outer Space in 1986, Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space in 1992 and the Declaration on International Cooperation for the Benefit and in the Interest of All States, Taking Into Particular Account the Needs of Developing Countries in 1996.

These sets of principles are also based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and, moreover, on some provisions of the Liability and Registration Conventions. Unlike the Space Treaty, however, they are not legally binding but principles thus adopted formulate a code of conduct and reflect a legal conviction of the present international community on special categories of space activities. These General Assembly resolutions, particularly the majority of them which were adopted by consensus, if followed by a constant practice of States and international organizations, may play a significant role either in establishing customary rules of international law or as a basis for future negotiations on international treaties to regulate the same subjects in a legally binding manner.

May I now say a few words only on the role of the United Nations space conferences? A certain role in the development of the United Nations space law was also played by the United Nations Conferences on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. All the three Conferences held so far were prepared by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space which acted as their preparatory committee, either alone or it established special bodies for this purpose. Of course, the United Nations Space Conferences were dealing with all aspects of international cooperation and established new goals in this field. Probably the latest in the series of these Conferences, the so-called UNISPACE III, held at Vienna in 1999, which many members of the delegations to these sessions of the COPUOS still keep in their memories, was the largest and the most interesting from the viewpoint of the possibility for further development of space law. In the framework of a technical forum, a special Workshop on Space Law in the Twenty-First Century, which was organized by the International Institute of Space Law of the International Astronautical Federation, evaluated during eight sessions, the most important fields of the present legal issues relating to space activities. The Space Millennium: Vienna Declaration in Space and Human Development, which emerged from the deliberations of the UNISPACE III, reaffirmed the role of the COPUOS, its two Subcommittees and its Secretariat in leading global efforts for the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space on significant global issues. Among other tasks, the Vienna Declaration recommended: “to promote the efforts of the COPUOS in the developing of space law by inviting States to ratify or accede to and inviting international intergovernmental organizations to declare acceptance of the outer space treaties developed by the Committee and by considering the future development of space law to meet the needs of the international community, taking into particular account the needs of developing countries and the countries with economies in transition.”

At present, the COPUOS and its Legal Subcommittee are not negotiating any new legal instrument, be it a treaty or a set of principles, notwithstanding that there have been a number of topics which might deserve a consideration with a view of drafting new regulatory instruments. It does not mean, however, that the United Nations bodies do not have on their agendas any items of a legal significance.

For a certain time, the agenda of the Legal Subcommittee comprised only a number of surviving issues, the discussion of which brought some, but

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rather limited, progress. This state of affairs, however, has been changing during the last couple of years since the COPUOS agreed to restructuring the agendas for both its Subcommittees. The group of items to be considered under a work plan seems to be most prospective for it permits to examine the selected issues in a more systematic way. So far, one such issue passed through the examination and it was the review of the concept of the launching State. The conclusions derived from that examination have now been inserted in a draft resolution on the application of the concept of the launching State, which has been agreed in the Working Group on the Status and Applications of the Five United Nations Treaties on Outer Space during the session of the Legal Subcommittee this year and is now submitted to the Committee for its endorsement and submission to the United Nations General Assembly for its approval.

Another item of this category that just started to be considered at this year’s session of the Legal Subcommittee and for which a working group should be also established during the next two sessions of the Subcommittee, is practice of States and international organizations in registering space objectives. The purpose of this exercise is the collection and examination of the reports of States and international organizations on their practice in registering space objects and drafting of recommendations for enhancing adherence to the 1975 Registration Convention which, up to date, has enjoyed of the adherence of a limited number of States Parties.

From among the regular items, at least some partial results among the issues of the long-standing item on matters relating to the definition and delimitation of outer space and the character and utilization of the geostationary orbit should be recalled. For the Legal Subcommittee succeeded to agree on a summary of discussions on the geostationary orbit. This question still remains on the agenda of the Subcommittee but it no longer needs to be discussed in a special working group. Furthermore, another long-lasting debate concerning the definition and delimitation of outer space, which concentrated during several recent years on possible legal issues concerning aerospace objects, produced a questionnaire including a number of points relating to this topic. The replies received from a number of States to the questionnaire and still expected to be received led the Working Group to the conclusion that the consideration of the questionnaire should still continue.

Some items on the present agenda of the Legal Subcommittee now include topics which should be discussed as the so-called single issues/items for

discussion. From among them, interesting deliberations have been developed on the initiative of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, UNIDROIT, which is an intergovernmental organization based in Rome, which cares for harmonizing and coordinating the private law of States and prepare gradually for the adoption by various States of uniform rules of private law. UNIDROIT prepared a draft Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment which was adopted at a Diplomatic Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, in November 2001. The Convention should be accompanied by three protocols, namely a Protocol on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment, a Protocol on Matters Specific to Railway Rolling Stock, and a Protocol on Matters Specific to Space Assets.

In the COPUOS Legal Subcommittee, the discussion on this particular item began in 2001 and in order to review the issues relevant for the COPUOS, an Ad Hoc Consultation Mechanism was established which held two special meetings in 2001 and 2002. At present the Legal Subcommittee continues discussing two outstanding issues which emerge from the previous consultations, namely, the possibility of the United Nations serving as Supervisory Authority under the future Space Protocol, and the relationship between the terms of the preliminary draft Protocol and the rights and obligations of States under the legal regime applicable to outer space. On these issues, differing opinions are still held among the delegations to the Legal Subcommittee and, therefore, the discussions should continue now in a special working group during the next session of the Subcommittee. Moreover, the issue of the role of the United Nations as a Supervisory Authority should be considered during the period before the next session by a special working group acting by electronic means of communication. This is a certain innovation in the method of work of the Legal Subcommittee.

Ladies and gentlemen, I will now turn for your interest, if you agree, to some reflections on the past and present work of the COPUOS. Having outlined a short history of the work of the COPUOS, with a special accent on the work of the Legal Subcommittee, may I now offer some reflection on this body of the United Nations, including some suggestions for its further endeavours.

The first question, which must come to our mind when evaluating the results of the COPUOS activities, relates to the effectiveness of work of this important United Nations body. In the legal field, it must be recognized that the COPUOS, acting through its Legal Subcommittee, succeeded to establish a basis

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for the rule of law in outer space. These foundations, however, were mostly laid down during the first two decades of this development when the five United Nations space treaties were concluded. During the third decade, a number of sets of principles were still elaborated, the last such set having been in 1996. Since then, discussions in the COPUOS and its Legal Subcommittee have continued but no major outcome in the form of a new space law regulatory instrument emerged. Why was it possible to reach major results earlier, during the period that we used to call “Cold War”? And why is it so difficult to agree on some new regulatory instruments now when those tensions should be over? Of course, an important factor in the past was the need for maintaining a balance in the bipolar world. And international cooperation in developing space law flourished, not during the periods of the highest tension, but during the intervals of détente. But a significant role that should not be omitted was also fulfilled by the actors, it means by participating delegations which included partisans of cooperation and agreement. Many experts, both in the scientific and technical field and in the legal field, which participated in the discussions at that time, knew each other from different specialized conferences and symposia, outside the United Nations, at the non-governmental level. Such meetings established a certain basis for a quiet and fruitful exchange of views which also facilitated the negotiations at the political fora of the United Nations. The more so, since the COPUOS and its Subcommittees used to be smaller bodies and, therefore, the discussions could be shorter and more effective. Moreover, a useful work was done by smaller negotiating groups, which discussed the issues during the sessions of the Subcommittees, more informally, without interpreters and helped us to reach or come closer to agreements which were then presented to an official forum. In this way, it was possible to lay down the foundations of the present legal regime for peaceful space activities. A number of gaps have remained in this regime which have survived until now. But as a whole, the international legal basis for space activities created in the past meets its function even today, under the new conditions in the world.

Of course, it does not mean that we should close our eyes before the new technologies in space activities and new political and social conditions existing in the present international community. These changes require seeking a more effective and innovative interpretation and application of the principles and rules in force but also a further development of the legal regulation of space activities by new agreements.

It also means to overcome the barriers between the traditional means of public international law and private international law and to advance a simultaneous development of national space law. In this way, a new and more complex system of space law is emerging. Its foundation remains to be provided by international space law but an important role is also left to domestic laws which should be mutually harmonized.

In my survey of the development of international space activities, I tried to summarize the up-to-date results and to mention some questions which are now under consideration. However, there have been also other substantive issues which should be taken into account in a near or more distant future. The problems relating to the impact of space activities on the Earth and the protection of the space environment itself belong to this group of issues and they should be studied and regulated relatively soon. For several years, the mitigation of space debris and the application of effective technical measures against the generation thereof, have already been under consideration in the COPUOS and its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee. These considerations were summed up in a Technical Report on Space Debris, published in 1999, which was generally accepted and appreciated as an important achievement. Since then, the discussions in the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee continue under a new multi-year plan and if they succeed, they could lead to the adoption of guidelines for practice and policies which should be implemented on a voluntary basis through national mechanisms. However, it should be carefully pondered whether such measures, which would become from the legal point of view only agreed proposals for unilateral actions, would give rise to a sufficient feeling of duty to comply with them if no international responsibility in cases of non-compliance with such guidelines could be derived from them. This and other legal aspects of space debris should, therefore, be considered simultaneously with the development of technical norms.

Another major issue, which has been raised during the discussions on possible new items for the Legal Subcommittee in recent years, concerns the future development of space law as a whole. This issue is now formulated as “the appropriateness and desirability of drafting a universal comprehensive convention on international space law”. It would mean a codification of space law which is so far dispersed in several instruments of different legal nature. According to the proponents of this idea, such an attempt should not change the existing principles of space law, but at the same time, it would enable to fill

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the gaps which have remained in the existing space law instruments and thus to further develop the present legal order of space activities. However, when thinking about this idea, the realization of which may become desirable or even necessary some time in the future, we have to carefully ponder whether the international conditions for a successful attempt in this direction are already ripe. Should our efforts not rather be dedicated to strengthening the existing legal basis of space activities, for example, by insisting on a full compliance by the principles in force and by reviewing and transforming the recommendatory principles into binding rules of international law?

The thinking of substantive issues of the further development of space law when thinking about it, we should not forget the need for a further improvement of methods of our work. As already recalled in our discussions, the task of implementation of the recommendations of UNISPACE III led to the establishment of Action Teams which prepared the assessment and recommendations relating to the individual areas of space activities for the report to the United Nations General Assembly. In the Legal Subcommittee, in connection with the consideration of some issues, such as the concept of the launching State and with the UNIDROIT draft Space Protocol, inter-sessional consultation meetings were convened to enable a deeper analysis of and exchange of views on these initiatives. Sessions of special working groups have been also effected under the scope of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee. But would it not be possible to establish joint study groups on well selected issues which are of common concern of both Subcommittees?

And last but not least, a few words about the rule of consensus. This method of decision-making in the COPUOS was introduced right at the outset of its activities and could be also assess as one of the contributions of the Committee to the whole practice of the United Nations. Also today, it is not possible to imagine the work in the international cooperation in the peaceful space activities without application of this principle. But this rule was not intended only as a means for protection of interests of different groups of States or even of individual Member States. First of all, the principle of consensus is a tool for reaching a general agreement. For international cooperation must be understood, not only as an option, but rather as a duty and all delegations in the United Nations bodies, such as the COPUOS and its Subcommittees, should develop maximum efforts to reach reasonable, just and mutually acceptable solutions.

I firmly believe that the growth of international cooperation in space activities and the progressive development of space law will continue and everybody as of us should contribute to these noble aims as much as possible.

Thank you for your attention.

The CHAIRMAN: Professor Kopal, on behalf of this Committee, I say thank you very much.

Distinguished delegates, when we invited Professor Kopal last year to address you on this very subject, it is now glaringly clear that you knew what you were doing because I do not know how many of you in this room are lawyers. I attended the first Legal Subcommittee this year. You will not believe it. I never attended the Legal Subcommittee because I am not a lawyer and when lawyers get together and talk among themselves, I do not understand them. So I always stay away. Professor Kopal, you have addressed everything about COPUOS, its genesis, the genesis of its programmes, the history of all its legal instruments, the difficulties they faced and how they were resolved, in a manner that all of us who know nothing about law can fully understand it. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you very much.

You raised a number of questions. I humbly hope and I sincerely plea with your colleagues in the Legal Subcommittee to take into account everything you have said. On our _______ (not clear) as you were speaking, I was discussing with the Secretariat, where do we go with Professor Kopal’s presentation? And these are our views.

Number one, the Secretariat will work with Professor Kopal so that every delegate will have a copy of his presentation before you go. That is number one.

Number two, I strongly believe that what you have done this afternoon, in a publication form, can be called a premier on space law for global distribution. It is thereto a premier on space law. I have discussed with the Secretariat. We can publish about 1,200 copies of this, with 500 CD-ROMS, if we can come out with about $3,000. We need that money and we are going to try and campaign for it so that we can publish it for general circulation.

Finally, as your Chairman, I hereby request the Legal Subcommittee, when it convenes in the year 2005, to please look at this agenda and find a meaningful window of opportunity to discuss the issues, the concerns, the questions that have been

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addressed so eloquently by Professor Kopal this afternoon. By so doing, I think all of us in this room, our countries and the human race will benefit more. Professor Kopal, we thank you very much.

General exchange of views (agenda item 5)

Distinguished delegates and representatives, I would now like to continue, and given the number of speakers that have firmly indicated their interest in addressing agenda item 5, to conclude our consideration of agenda item 5 this afternoon, that is, General Exchange of Views.

The first speaker on my list is the distinguished representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Hassan Shafti. Mr. Shafti, you have the floor Sir. Mr. Shafti is the Director-General of the Iranian Space Agency.

Mr. H. SHAFTI (Islamic Republic of Iran): Thank you Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, it is a great pleasure for me to take benefit from the opportunity given to me to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you for your appointment as the new Chairman and also to the First and Second Vice-Chairmen, Mr. Ciro Arévalo Yepes of Colombia and Mr. Parviz Tarikhi of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I am sure under your wise and able leadership we shall achieve further progress in our mutual efforts towards serving mankind to peaceful uses of outer space.

I also express my sincere appreciation to your predecessor, Ambassador González, and his Bureau for their valuable and successful efforts.

My thanks also goes to Dr. Camacho, the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and his very able staff for their continuous and tireless efforts.

Last, but not least, I wish to offer my gratitude for the work of Mr. Kopal and his interesting and informative lecture in this afternoon’s session. Thank you for providing us with a copy of his presentation.

Mr. Chairman, Iran has been a member of the Committee on the Peaceful uses of Outer Space since its establishment and has contributed towards the aim of COPUOS since the beginning. However, this is our first appearance in the Committee in the new capacity as the Iran Space Agency, ISA. Only one week after its establishment last February, we introduced ISA with full details in the last meeting the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and I see no necessity to repeat the same here except an emphasis that the law in

force in this regard has stressed the importance of international and regional cooperation by allocating the responsibilities to the highest relevant authorities, that is the Supreme Council of Space in Iran, chaired by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The new establishment, that is the Iran Space Agency, is responsible to implement approvals of the Supreme Council of Space now with a wide scope of responsibilities and authorities and is now the only official government body directly responsible for national, regional and international space activities.

In our new capacity, we look forward to cooperate and fully support you in your important mission and an even closer with COPUOS and the Office for Outer Space Affairs and their distinguished members.

Mr. Chairman, within the first three months since its establishment, the new Iran Space Agency, with valuable cooperation of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, organized a Regional Workshop on the Use of Space Technology for Environmental Security, Disaster Rehabilitation and Sustainable Development, from 8 to 12 May 2004 in Tehran. Thirty-six international participants in related fields from Asia and the Pacific, African, Europe and America, as well as nearly 100 Iranian scholars and experts, attended the forum and exchanged views, knowledge and experience. This Workshop also discussed the solutions in national, regional and global level for the vital and inter-related issues of environmental protection, disaster rehabilitation and sustainable development, using space science and technology. The Workshop concluded with promising results, and as an important outcome of the Workshop, the approval of the Tehran initiative is worth to be mentioned. The initiative pinpoints on the important issues of data access, capacity-building, networking, creating spatial data infrastructures, setting national and regional space policies, awareness raising and using the existing initiatives in the application of space science and technology for environmental protection, disaster rehabilitation and sustainable development. According to the initiative, the necessity of establishing a Regional Task Force for knowledge-sharing is recognized and the Iran Space Agency is selected to act as the coordinator of this Regional Task Force. We appreciate the valuable support of Dr. Camacho and very active role of Mr. David Stevens and Mrs. Sharafat Gadimova of the Office for Outer Space Affairs.

Further to this activity, we have in our short distance future plan, an International Seminar on Satellite Technology Application in Communications

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and Remote Sensing, from 9 to 15 October 2004. This Seminar will be organized in Tehran by the Iran Space Agency in cooperation with the Inter-Islamic Network on Space Sciences and Technology Applications, ISNET. This Seminar will provide a forum for engineers, scientists, researchers and planners of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, OIC, for the Member States to present their views, discuss new trends and developments and exchange experience in the state-of-the-art technology in the areas relevant to the subject of the Seminar.

Mr. Chairman, at present, a number of States in Asia and the Pacific enjoy great potentials and capabilities in space technology and its applications. We are pleased that their success and development in different aspects of space science and technology applications have been considerable. Taking benefit of the synergism effect of the regional cooperation in the applications of space science and technology in favour of sustainable development of the region is of great importance. On this basis, the Islamic Republic of Iran observes the issue of the regional cooperation for the space science and technology applications as a high priority. As an example, I very briefly refer to a Small Multi-Mission Satellite Project in close cooperation with a number of countries in the region.

Mr. Chairman, we consider sustainable development a need for every society in our planet. A faster growth by the developing countries in comparison to developed countries is required to reduce the existing gap, the gap which does not help the world’s much deserved peace and tranquillity. Knowledge-based development, and in particular, space science and technology plays an important role in this respect. Our Regional Workshop, once again, highlighted this role and we are as before prepared for further cooperation in this regard.

On the question of space and water, Mr. Chairman, while we all confess the vital role of water in our life, as well as the life of future generations, due attention does not seem too much this vital role. It is not a fair expectation that the future generations pay the penalty of our misuse and mismanagement of water resources and, indeed, other natural resources. We believe that space science and technology, supported by our common and mutual understanding, will assist us to achieve satisfactory results in efficient management of natural resources at large and water sources in particular.

My country is prepared to contribute in further clarification and definition of the item of the agenda

related to space and water and to cooperate at the international and regional level.

Mr. Chairman, we consider implementation of the recommendations of the UNISPACE III as an effective step forward and we shall be honoured to be able to contribute effectively in co-Chairing Action Team Number One. We hope that achievements and considerable efforts of the Action Teams will be supported by COPUOS and the Office for Outer Space Affairs and other relevant bodies for the implementation of the recommendations of UNISPACE III.

We also believe that capacity-building can play an important role in this regard, particularly in sustainable development. The regional workshops and symposia on the applications of space science and technology are of great importance and we have always been prepared to cooperate in this direction.

We believe that knowledge-sharing and exchange of experience and expertise is worth to be highly considered. To day, the need for an active network for global collaboration in space science is well felt. The global role of the United Nations is an excellent support to assure distribution of in-depth knowledge to all members as an essential requirement which we recommend to be given due attention.

Mr. Chairman, this Committee’s valuable efforts in the past to assure using outer space for peaceful purposes cannot be fruitful unless the international community strongly supports the non-militarization of outer space. We feel it is high time to make sure that space is kept clear and clean of the arms race. In this regard, I once again express our appreciation for COPUOS’ valuable efforts in the past and its fundamental role in the scientific, technical and legal fields. However, the alarms(?) of the loopholes and new challenges which humanity may face should not be overlooked.

We believe also that since space belongs to all nations and generations, and in the light of new developments, especially the commercialization of outer space, we are in need of laws and treaties appropriate to our present and future requirement on the application, exploitation and exploration of space. We, therefore, support the initiatives for strengthening and developing space law for peaceful purposes.

Mr. Chairman, as far as natural disasters are concerned, my country has been, and will be, subjected to severe natural disasters, including earthquakes, droughts and floods. We are, indeed, amongst us who

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very well feel and recognize the urgency of need for prediction, mitigation and rehabilitation. We, therefore, suggest that in continuation of efforts, of the Action Team on Disaster Management, an expertise gathering to be organized as soon as possible to bring together the latest research and findings in this matter. Iran is prepared to participate actively in such a gathering.

Mr. Chairman, the last century, of the last Millennium, ended with a heavy impact of information theory and knowledge-based development with emphasis on microelectronics technology and aerospace. It is, however, very important that the last century also witnessed severe human suffering from natural as well as manmade disasters. Earlier on in my statement, I stressed my delegation’s views about the importance of science and technology in this respect. However, my delegation also wish to add that something more than human resource development in a technical sense only, is also required, something more related to the viewpoints and philosophy of approach to the dilemma. Perhaps a matter to be discussed in our agenda item, Space and Society. We shall be pleased to cooperate in pursuing this important issue.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, my delegation shares the opinion expressed by several distinguished members about membership of Thailand and Libya and we shall be pleased to see them amongst us, COPUOS members. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN: I thank the distinguished delegate from the Islamic Republic of Iran for his statement and on behalf of the Committee, I want to congratulate you and your country on your establishment of your new Iranian Space Agency.

The next speaker on my list is the distinguished representative of the United States of America, Mr. Ken Hodgkins.

Mr. K. HODGKINS (United States of America): Thank you Mr. Chairman. Let me begin by joining previous speakers in congratulating you on your election as Chairman of COPUOS. You bring to this Committee a level of experience and leadership that is hard to match. We are confident that your tenure will be highly successful and we look forward to working with you to that end. I would also like to congratulate Ambassador Raimundo González for his outstanding contributions to the Committee while serving as Chairman during the past four years.

The staff of the Office for Outer Space Affairs should also be congratulated for another year of

outstanding support to the Committee and its Subcommittees.

Before turning to the work of the Committee for this session, I would like to comment briefly about three current activities in the United States that bear significantly on the United States space programme. First, I would call your attention to the 14 January announcement by President Bush of a new United States space exploration vision. This vision will serve as the centrepiece of United States civil space activity in the future and will provide NASA with a road map for its space exploration programme. President Bush, in describing the new vision as a “journey” and not a “race”, was conscious of the role that international cooperation could play in achieving the vision.

Mr. Chairman, this past year, the global community also demonstrated a commitment to our own planet. On 31 July 2003, the United States hosted the Earth Observation Summit in Washington D.C. which introduced a new phase for international cooperation in Earth system science and environmental decision-making. At the Summit, more than 30 nations, with participation from over 20 international organizations and institutions, agreed to work together to forge a comprehensive and sustained system or systems of Earth observations. The Declaration of the Summit demonstrates the resolve and accord among nations from all hemispheres and at all levels of economic development to step forward and affirm the need for timely, long-term global information as a basis for sound decision-making. To this end, the Summit participants launched the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations, otherwise known as GEO, with the goal of furthering the creation of a comprehensive and sustained Global Earth Observation System, or GEOSS.

In April, Japan hosted the Second Earth Observation Summit where participants agreed on a framework of a 10-year implementation plan. This is an important step towards the final implementation plan to be developed by the next Summit to be hosted in Europe.

One of the GEO co-chairs, United States Department of Commerce Under-Secretary Conrad Lautenbacher, will be giving a presentation next week on this critical initiative.

The third item I wish to raise is the status of the return to flight of the Space Shuttle fleet. Since the tragic loss of Space Shuttle Columbia, NASA has been focusing its efforts on determining the causes of the accident and making the necessary changes to allow it

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to continue Shuttle operations. As you may be aware, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board released its report and findings late last summer. NASA has accepted the findings and recommendations of the Board and is working to implement those recommendations fully. At present, NASA is pursuing a target of the spring of 2005 to resume Space Shuttle flight.

Throughout the accident investigation, and during the development of the new United States exploration vision, the International Space Station programme has remained a high priority for the United States, as well as for our international partners. The partnership has worked closely to overcome the challenges created by the loss of Columbia and their efforts have sustained a crew on orbit without interruption. The new United States plan for space exploration includes plans for finishing construction and full utilization of the International Space Station.

I would now like to review several notable achievements of the United States space programme that have occurred over the past year.

Early this year, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission successfully delivered two robotic rovers to the surface of Mars. These rovers, named Spirit and Opportunity, are continuing to operate on the surface of Mars. They have probed the red planet for considerably longer than their expected service life and they have detected evidence that larger bodies of standing water once covered parts of Mars. Germany and Denmark have contributed instruments to these rovers and the mission science team is made up of participants from all over the world. The pictures and data we are receiving from the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, as well as from the European Mars Express spacecraft, have once again heightened the interest of the world in space exploration and provided invaluable data for countless planetary scientists.

In August of 2003, NASA launched the last of its observatories, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, now called the Spitzer Space Telescope. By the end of the year, it was returning stunning new pictures.

NASA’s Stardust spacecraft collected samples from a comet train earlier this year and took pictures of a comet from close range. The samples are now en route back to Earth.

In April, NOAA began operation of its advanced solar storm detector, the Solar X-ray Imager, on one of its geostationary satellites. The SXI provides space weather forecasters with real-time images of the

Sun’s broiling atmosphere. This information is critical to the effort to provide solar flare warnings to help prevent harm to billions of dollars worth of commercial and government assets in space and on land.

Ongoing United States missions have continued to make new discoveries as well. The Chandra X-ray Observatory detected, for the first time, sound waves from a super-massive black hole. New observations from NASA’s Voyager-1 spacecraft provided evidence that it was approaching formerly unexplored fringes of our solar system.

Mr. Chairman, once again our agenda for this session of COPUOS holds the promise of producing useful results on a number of important topics. We are particularly encouraged by the substantial progress that has been made in the work of the UNISPACE III Action Teams and look forward to the Committee’s further consideration of what can be done to implement the recommendations of UNISPACE III. We anticipate that there will be an extremely interesting exchange of views on the spin-off benefits of space exploration, space and water, and on strengthening the role of COPUOS in promoting international cooperation so as to ensure that outer space is maintained for peaceful purposes.

My delegation is pleased to note that the Committee will be considering again this year an item dealing with space and society with a special emphasis on education. This will be an excellent opportunity for delegations to share information on national and international efforts to demonstrate to the general public how space activities could enrich their daily lives.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN: I thank the distinguished delegate of the United States of America for your statement. I also thank you for your kind words addressed to the Chair, the new Bureau, as well as to the Secretariat. I believe Member States have listened attentively to you and to the several notable achievements in space exploration and utilization undertaken by the United States in the past year and how the international community watched very closely when the Mars space exploration rover missions were taking place and the pictures were being showed on many television programmes across the globe. I think also, I am sure, that members of this Committee have happily noted the new approach of the United States, the approach that sees space as a journey and not as a race, as manifested by your efforts in the GEO

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programme. So this is highly welcome and we thank you for your statement.

The next speaker on my list is Argentina and I call on Mr. Sayus to address us. Mr. Sayus please.

Mr. S. SAYUS (Argentina) (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you Mr. Chairman.. Mr. Chairman, let me begin on behalf of my delegation by extending our congratulations to you on your election as Chair of the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. You can count on the full support and cooperation of the Argentine delegation. Moreover, we would like to extend our recognition to the other members of the Bureau.

Moreover, we wish to express our appreciation to the outgoing Chairman of COPUOS, Ambassador Raimundo González, for his performance as Chair and his dedication, as demonstrated throughout his term.

I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight the outstanding work of the Office for Outer Space Affairs, headed by Dr. Camacho.

Mr. Chairman, my delegation would like to indicate its full endorsement of the statements put forth by Algeria and Colombia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and GRULAC respectively.

Mr. Chairman, in this general exchange of views, I would like to begin by reviewing the main activities undertaking in the area of Argentina’s space programme since the last session of COPUOS. Most of these have taken place in the context of CONAE, the National Commission on Space Activities in Argentina.

First, turning to bilateral agreements, there was a Memorandum of Cooperation in Space signed between CONAE and the Algerian Space Agency. This provides for joint development of applications for space information and Earth observation mission and a feasibility study to look at the development of the telecommunications geostationary satellite.

Furthermore, following the successful cooperation with NASA of the United States, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between NASA and CONAE of Argentina to develop a fourth joint satellite mission called SAC-D/Aquarius, the purpose of which is to study the salinity of the sea and humidity of soils, amongst other objectives.

Now turning to the multilateral plan, Argentina belongs to the Open Initiative on Space Agencies for the Use of Space Technology in support of the World Heritage Convention of Paris, France, 13 July 2003. In this context, along with UNESCO, the European Space Agency and EURISY, last April, at the Gulich Institute, a seminar was organized on the Applications of Space Information for the Preservation of World Heritage Science. This seminar brought together more than 50 experts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Similarly, our country, working through the Argentine Space Agency, joined the International Charter on Space and Natural Disasters, again signed in Paris, France, 13 July 2003. Consequently, provisions have been made, given the various types of emergencies for SAC-C satellite images and Córdoba Earth Station images. In this context, Argentina continues to make headway in its early warning programme for natural disasters and manmade disasters. Thus, in November of 2003, in Córdoba in Argentina, a Workshop of Experts was held for Space Technology in the Management of Emergencies Related to Floods and Fires. This meeting was organized jointly by the Argentine Space Agency, the Office for Outer Space Affairs and the European Space Agency. It brought together a number of experts in the region that worked on defining the project for cooperation in the area of developing tools for early warning in the event of emergencies caused by floods or fires in the region. Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Peru all participated at this event and there were also representatives from Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela, Spain, France and the European Space Agency.

Moreover, the Argentine Space Agency presented a draft for the development of tools of early warning for emergencies in the area of health and for a meeting of a group of science, technology and education for the Latin American Cooperation Forum and for Asia called FOCALAE. This is in San José, Costa Rica from 11 to 12 July.

Looking at the issue of emergencies which are particularly important for the region, vulcanology has taken on a great deal of importance within that context and in this regard, CONAE are working with UNESCO and the National University of Salta, will be holding in the Grulich Institute next November a seminar open to all countries on the subject of Detecting and Follow-Up of Volcanic Emissions, Hot Points and Earth Deformation By Way of Remote Sensing. The participation at this event is open to all nations of the region and anyone who wishes to participate.

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Likewise, Argentina participated in the Summit on Earth Observation in August 2003 in Washington and Argentina continues to participate in meetings of the Earth Observation Group with a view to establishing an International Plan of Action.

Mr. Chairman, one subject to which my country attaches great importance is the area of space technology applications for the purposes of human health. In this regard, in Argentina, a symposium was held on the subject of Space and Human Health in July 2003, working jointly with the CNES of France, the Space Study Centre of France. The purpose of the seminar was to develop new tools for epidemiological vigilance and surveillance, research and development of health monitoring methods for populations in the area and monitoring of the environment and thus using information which comes from space in order to build systems for early warning detection and so forth as well as models.

Mr. Chairman, activities geared to education and remote sensing are also a priority for Argentina, and based on this, the Institute of Space Studies Mario Gulich has been working jointly with the Regional Centre of Education and Science and Technology for Space in Latin America and the Caribbean, CRECTEALC, and has agreed on the holding of a seminar for education on the environment in Latin America called “The Use of Remote Sensing for Climate Change Study”, which will be held in Córdoba in October 2004.

In this same area, we should also reference CONAE working with the Institute of Brazilian Space Research, INPE, which has been working on remote sensing education days in the Mercosur area, to be held in August in that country, Brazil.

The activities of the Grulich Institute with regard to projects on early warning for emergencies are continuing to be intensely developed. Along these lines, the Italian-Argentine system for disaster management in the next weeks, working with the Italian Space Agency, is noteworthy. There are 18 grant holders who will be participating in the training of applications of this system.

Mr. Chairman, with regard to the subject of the report of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee for the forty-first session, my delegation would like to express the view that it is particularly interested in the more significant efforts undertaken by the Working Group on the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space.

Moreover, Argentina attaches great importance to the activities in the area of tele-medicine using space systems. In this regard, the Space Centre of the Province of Córdoba in Argentina is developing a project on models for early warnings and the prevention of epidemiological disasters.

With regard to the benefits derived from space technology, our country believes it is vital to use these benefits, given the size of our country and the existence of a number of remote areas which need to be integrated into the rest of the country.

With regard to the subject of space and water, we would like to congratulate the Austrian delegation for the initiative of including this in COPUOS’ agenda. Indeed, better use of the resource of water and making it more accessible to the population is a very significant issue in order to improve living conditions of a very high number of people.

In our understanding and that of CONAE participated in the International Conference on Space and Water which took place in Santiago de Chile in the context of the International Air and Space Fair which was held there and which included the participation of experts from the National Water Institute and CONAE, all of whom showed the extent to which water can be tackled using remote sensing.

Mr. Chairman, with regard to the Legal Subcommittee, we would like to indicate that, as our position has always been, our country supports the development of an orderly regulation for the use of outer space. And in this regard, the examination of the draft Protocol on Securities of Space Assets and the Convention related thereto, especially with regard to mobile equipment, my delegation would like to highlight its position in the following areas.

Number one, the possibility of the United Nations being designated as an oversight authority should be carefully evaluated.

Two, safeguarding, protecting public services that are essential to the Contracting State in the event of insolvency is a very important issue and thus we need to be careful and having a broad definition of the concept of public service.

And finally, it is necessary to make headway in the definition of space materials and in drafting the Protocol, we must be careful to have standards of public international law prevail, as contained in the treaties and principles of the United Nations with

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regard to the standards and norms contained in the Protocol.

Mr. Chairman, with regard to the composition of this Committee, the delegation of Argentina would like to fully endorse the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as a full-fledged member and likewise Argentina also fully supports the joining of Thailand as a full-fledged member of the Committee. Thank you Sir.

The CHAIRMAN: I thank the distinguished delegate of Argentina for his statement as well as for his kind words addressed to the Chair, the new Bureau and the Secretariat. Member States have taken note of the collaborative activities in Argentina and in particular with your neighbour, Brazil. So we thank you Sir.

The next speaker on my list is the distinguished Ambassador of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Ambassador Shilli, you have the floor Sir.

Ms. S. SHILLI (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (interpretation from Arabic): Mr. President, I would like on behalf of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to present warm congratulations to you for your election as President of this forty-seventh session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. I would also like to express to you our appreciation and gratitude when we see you heading the work of this Committee. We are quite sure that your wisdom and your long experience and your own personal characteristics will lead us to great success.

My delegation would also like to extend its congratulations to the Vice-Presidents and to the Rapporteur for their election to the Bureau of the Committee.

My delegation seizes this opportunity to express its thanks and appreciation to the Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs of the United Nations for the enormous efforts that he exerts and in order to implement the recommendations and objectives of the United Nations in the field of outer space in cooperation with the Member States and the agencies concerned.

Mr. Chairman, as you know, my country has expressed great interest and a true desire over many years now to be a member of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space out of its firm belief in the importance of international cooperation in the fields of outer space and its uses for peace and its peaceful uses. And foremost among them, the achievement of sustainable development, the protection

of the environment and combating backwardness and poverty.

Mr. Chairman, the continued interest in being a member of this Committee, which Libya has shown, has been welcomed by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which, in its resolution 58/89 of 2003, in achievement of this objective, it is called for constructive consultations within the Committee and with the regional groupings in order to reach a positive decision regarding Libya’s membership during the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly, to be discussed by that fifty-ninth General Assembly.

Mr. Chairman, in this context, my delegation would like to continue to exert its efforts in order to be a member of this Committee hoping that its efforts will be crowned a success through your support and assistance. There is no doubt that you know that whether before the General Assembly of the United Nations or the Special Political Committee, or during the consultations of the Member States and the Presidents of the regional groupings and the Secretariat, through you, and through the outgoing Chairman of the Committee, in order to achieve this positive decision.

In this context, my delegation would like to extends it deep thanks to the Ambassador of Angola, the President of the African Group, and Her Excellency, the Ambassador of Algeria, as the Chairman of the Group of 77 and China, for the support and assistance that my country has seen from them.

We would also like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the members and to all the Heads and members of the delegations of the various regional groupings, as well as the Heads of the Diplomatic Missions in Vienna, who have announced the support of their countries for Libya’s membership in this Committee. On this occasion, we would like to affirm, through you, that my delegation will continue to cooperate and exert every effort in order to make the mandate of this Committee a full success.

Mr. Chairman, my delegation has always attended as an observer, the work of this Committee over the years and also participated on many occasions in the various activities accruing from these, whether internationally or regionally. On the national level, my country has given particular attention to space science and its applications and has set up the national mechanisms, as well as the specialized scientific institutions, amongst them, for instance, the Libyan Centre for Remote Sensing, the National Committee

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for Outer Space, the National Committee to Combat Desertification, the General Administration for Water, the General Administration for the Environment, in addition to the universities, research centres and institutes.

We have also exerted great efforts in order to achieve the development programmes to find the suitable solutions to the problems faced by development at the national level, mainly amongst them, the problems of water, the soil, desertification, drought and others.

Mr. Chairman, should Libya become a member of this Committee, this will help activate our national mechanisms related to space science and its applications for peaceful purposes and including them fully in the national development programmes and projects. Undoubtedly, these will have to do with the agricultural, the fighting of desertification, the problems of water and soil, natural disasters that prevent the protection of the environment, etc.

If we take into consideration the geographic position of Libya and the north of Africa and south of the Mediterranean, the membership of Libya in this Committee will lead to expanding the participation of the countries of the African continent in the international development for the peaceful uses of outer space through mutual interest and the space projects which will benefit and everyone in this context, as well as facing the challenges and problems that face development in Africa.

In conclusion, and in order not to take a great deal of your time, a brief report on the activities of Libya related to the peaceful use of outer space, which has been presented to the Bureau of this Committee, will be available for all the members of the Committee. I do thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN: I thank Her Excellency, the distinguished Ambassador of Libya for her statement and I thank you also for your kind words to the Chair, the Bureau and the Secretariat. You spoke eloquently about the request of your country to be a member of this distinguished Committee. I am sure, Your Excellency, members of your delegation will have informed you by now that there have been several delegates in this room since we started our meeting yesterday who have articulated your wishes very well, just as much as you have. So we are going to take this topic formally at this session but that will be next week and at that time, the Committee, by consensus will make its opinion known formally to Libya and to itself.

So we thank you very much Madam for your statement.

Now, distinguished delegates and members of the Secretariat, that will be the last intervention on agenda item 5 because time is running out and there are two more speakers who want to speak on agenda item 5. We have asked them to please come back tomorrow morning and address that subject so that we can expedite our work today.

Having stated that, I need to correct myself a little bit. When Professor Kopal finished his presentation, in the spirit of speed, I will admit that something, and that is, as a Professor, when he talks and lectures his students, they normally ask questions. I would like to believe that all of us are your students in this hall today but unfortunately, in the spirit of getting things done, we forgot to ask you questions and I have been told that questions are piling up. So Sir, can I invite you back to the podium?

Distinguished delegates and representatives, you listened very carefully to Professor Kopal when he addressed us about forty-five minutes ago. I hope everything he said has not gone through one ear and out through the other. That being the case, the floor is open for questions to Professor Kopal. The floor is yours. This floor is open.

OK, Professor Kopal, I will ask the first question. When I came into the United Nations, not in the Legal Subcommittee, as I said before, but even at the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and in the main Committee, legal issues were always raised and unfortunately I cannot find my big envelopes that I used to make minutes on in those days. But I really tried to understand the language of lawyers and why does it take so much time to agree on fundamental issues of human importance among lawyers in general, including issues dealing with space exploration? And what will have happened, and I think somebody will say why are you asking such a question, but I will ask it, what will have happened to space exploration as we have it today without the Legal Subcommittee?

Mr. V. KOPAL (Czech Republic): As to the first part of your question. Of course, it depends on the skills and capabilities of participants in the discussions on legal issues. Some of my colleagues, of course, may wish to have more time in order to explain everything and in order to bring to the attention of the groups concerned or the aspects of the question under consideration. There are other people who can do it in a very simple way and, of course, why it lasted so long. I already said that it very much depends on the

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willingness to cooperate. If you have had political will to reach an agreement so the agreement can be reached relatively easy and soon. If you do not have such a will, of course, new issues and new aspects can be raised, questions can be raised, and then everything lasts very long. But I think it is not only, it does not depend only on this, I would say, subjective attitude. It also depends on the state of international relations. Because when the international relations need a relatively fast decision of the issues. So, of course, the negotiators and these are not only the lawyers but all kinds of negotiators will then be in a hurry to reach an agreement. But, of course, such an atmosphere of a political will to reach such an agreement does not exist, then it will take more time.

And I think there was also a unique opportunity during the first years of discussions on legal aspects because the space activity, this was a completely new field. It took many people and many governments and many important actors in international relations by surprise and so they had to somehow act relatively fast.

The first artificial satellite of the Earth was launched, as you know, on 4 October1957 and shortly after that date, I had an extraordinary opportunity to watch the session of the British Parliament and it was just the beginning of the foreign policy issues debate. And I remember that during this session, I was there for an hour or so, I heard at least a hundred times the term “Sputnik”. Everybody was speaking about the “Sputnik” and it was just the slogan that penetrated the whole discussion. So I introduce this _________ (not clear) only in order to show how strong was the impact of the event of the first satellites that were launched on the then international relations and, therefore, it was necessary to react.

And what was the second part of your question?

The CHAIRMAN: What I said, can you take us, in an imaginary manner, what will have happened if there never has been a Legal Subcommittee?

Mr. V. KOPAL (Czech Republic): I think there would be a legal ________ (not clear). I once read an inscription on the a wall on the Secretariat of the International Astronautical Federation and it was written there “In the beginning there was a chaos and then lawyers came and increased that chaos”. But let us not underestimate the role of lawyers in maintaining order, peace and international cooperation.

The CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much.

Any questions please?

France has the floor.

Mr. P. VILLEMUR (France) (interpretation from French): Mr. Chairman, I have the question of an ignorant person perhaps. Professor Kopal was recalling some of the treaties, particularly the Treaty on the Moon, caught my attention. As far as I know, very few countries actually signed that Treaty and even fewer ratified it. Maybe about 10 signed and about four ratified, that is it. I would like to understand why that happened. It is a question of an ignorant person, like I said. Yes, thank you.

Mr. V. KOPAL (Czech Republic): Yes, it is true. As a matter of fact, there are now 10 ratifications of this Agreement and five signatures of this Agreement. Among them also is the signature of France. I can only repeat that, indeed, a consensus was reached during the negotiations of the Committee and the Legal Subcommittee and that the result of these negotiations were endorsed by the Committee on Outer Space and then submitted to the General Assembly for its approval and, indeed, it was also approved by consensus. But then, of course, such is usual procedure, that the General Assembly opens the document adopted by a resolution of the General Assembly for signatures and ratifications and the signatures and ratifications continued very slowly and to a limited extent only. This is the present situation. I do not how this question should be dealt with but the best solution would be if other nations adhered to this. In my assessment, I did it not here but at other opportunities. A relatively reasonable compromise was reached during these negotiations otherwise it would have been rejected by the General Assembly and not adopted by consensus. But probably because of the state of international relations which deteriorated towards the end of the 1970s and during the 1980s, the process of signatures and ratifications was very slow and after all stopped the last ratification that was made some one or two years ago by the Government of Kazakhstan and nothing more.

I think the Committee should return to this issue again and consider the situation because the peaceful exploration of outer space and celestial bodies continues and brings some new results. As I already indicated during my lecture, we do not have only the Moon that is the subject of this Agreement, also other celestial bodies, unless they are special agreements also, should have been governed by this Moon Agreement. The exploration of Mars is going on. The exploration of other bodies in space is continuing and

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so on and we have heard here about the results of exploration of comets and so on. So this must be taken into account and something should be done.

The CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much Sir.

Yes Sir. Iran.

Mr. H. SHAFTI (Islamic Republic of Iran): Thank you Mr. Chairman. While once again I would like to thank Mr. Kopal, I hope he accepts the question from another ignorant person and that is, you referred to effectiveness of the work of COPUOS earlier on in your speech, I was wondering how much of this you can see there is related to lack of law and insufficiency in the law, so far, and as far as the future is concerned, how would you assess the coverage of law for outer space to protect the future of the world? Thank you.

Mr. V. KOPAL (Czech Republic): First of all, when the process of build-up of developing principles governing outer space activities started, it was decided to go step-by-step, not to attempt to elaborate and overall document, an overall treaty that would regulate or present or, at that time, past, and future aspects of space activities. And, therefore, first it was decided to draft a Declaration of Principles. Legal principles in international law play a very important role because not always precise regulations in detailed legal provisions is always attempted because particularly if there are new kinds of activities. You have to proceed very cautiously. And, therefore, it was again decided that first it will be only principles but legally binding principles, but also principles that would be the basis for further development of these principles. And, indeed, some of the principles were later on developed and more specific treaties, the Rescue Agreement, the Liability Convention, the Registration Convention, and, of course, also the Moon Agreement. And it was expected that this process would continue. There will be other agreements, other specific agreements, based on the main Space Treaty of 1967. But then, towards the end of the 1970s, in the beginning of the 1980s, this expectation was not affected.

Again, the Legal Subcommittee and, of course, the full Committee as well, returned to the Declaration of Principles by the United Nations General Assembly. But, of course, the United Nations resolutions are only recommendatory. The General Assembly cannot adopt legally binding principles but it can declare its recommendations. So that we now have a situation that some principles are legally binding, those principles which are including in the Outer Space

Treaty and the other four international treaties, of course, with different support from among the nations and some principles are inserted only in the United Nations General Assembly resolutions.

So this is first, again here, and this practice of adopting the United Nations General Assembly resolution was a pride. It was expected that these sets of principles later on would be transformed into legally binding treaties. As a matter of fact, for example, the use of the Principles on the Use of Nuclear Power Sources expected review that should have been done relatively easy in about two or three years or so. But since then, again, the work on it stopped. First of all, a new discussion on technical aspects of the nuclear power sources started within the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee in a special Group of Experts that was established for the purpose and the Legal Subcommittee did not proceed with the consideration of this review because it has been expecting the results of this Expert Group within the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and this discussion has not been finished yet.

Then again, the other sets of principles were not yet transformed into legally binding instruments. Recently, for example, the delegation of Brazil in the Legal Subcommittee raised this question and initiated a discussion on the review of the Remote Sensing Principles but neither this item has been adopted yet so this is the present situation.

As to the quantity of activities that are covered by legal regulation and the quantity of those activities that are not governed by law at all, it is very difficult to express it in a fair percentage, of course. For example, we do not have a regulation of exploitation of the resources of the Moon and of the celestial bodies. In the Moon Agreement, it was only agreed that once it becomes really feasible and impending, there will be a special regime of exploitation of the moon natural resources established. But so far, first of all, there have been very few nations that adhere to this Agreement. And second, no initiatives to open such a discussion has been presented.

The CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much Sir. That would be the last question on this to Professor Kopal and we hope you the questioner will be very brief and Professor Kopal will also be very brief in his response. Thank you very much. Go ahead.

Mr. V. SUNDARARAMAIAH (India): Professor Kopal, all these five treaties which have been

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possible are the follow-up(?) of the bipolar world are clear. What do you comment? Do you agree? The five treaties which are coming to being because of the bipolar world at that time, do you agree with that? Because lack of such a thing is making it difficult today to get agreement?

Mr. V. KOPAL (Czech Republic): I agree with these treaties that have been concluded. I do not have any critical reaction against these treaties. I believe that they still fulfil the task of providing at least a certain legal basis and so far as I know there have not been any attempts to completely change these treaties. On the contrary, they are considered useful and reasonable and applicable even during these days. But they should be completed. The process of developing space law should go on, should continue, should either try to fill the gaps that exist, one of the gaps I have just mentioned now, and to regulate other issues that have emerged during the recent years and that require indeed _____________ (not clear) of new agreements, new legal instruments. One of such instruments, of course, are the regulation, are the necessity of the regulating of some aspects of space activities that have been given birth by commercialization of these activities, by privatization of space activities, because the five United Nations space treaties were drafted during the time when the space activities were performed by public subjects, by States and international intergovernmental organizations. Now we have a lot of private activities in outer space and, of course, it must taken into account all new aspects must be somehow clarified and assessed how to proceed the application of these treaties to these new recreated conditions.

The CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much Professor Kopal. You have not disappointed us at all and please join me in thanking him for his efforts.

Now we cannot finish questioning you because some of us do not even understand the difference between treaties, conventions and principles, why the difference? And some of us are wondering whether existing legal tools actually are adequate to address what we face, given the fact that there are many more countries are becoming space capable and what will the children of tomorrow be doing?

So we need to move on, according to the Director. Thank you very much Professor Kopal.

Presentation by Ukraine

I would now like to give the floor to Mr. Degtyarev of Ukraine, who will be making a

presentation on “Prospective Directions of Activities and Projects in Outer Space Exploration in Ukraine”. You have the floor Sir.

Mr. O. DEGTYAROV (Ukraine) (interpretation from Russian): Thank you Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates. First of all, on behalf of the Ukrainian delegation, let me congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, and your deputies, members of the Bureau, on your election. Let me wish you every success. Ukraine has always followed your work with great empathy and interest and we assure you that in the future, Ukraine will continue making its utmost to make sure that the decisions of the Committee are implemented in actual activities, in real life.

The Yuzhnoye Design Office celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in April of this year, just recently. And at this point, I would like to share with you some statistics that characterize the results accomplished over 50 years by the Yuzhnoye Design Office. This is an exercise in arithmetic because I invite you to divide all of these numbers by 50 over 50 years. In these years, we have developed 900 launchers of various rockets and launch vehicles. We launched 400 spacecraft, manufactured by the Yuzhnoye Plant and jointly with others. More than 40 types of rocket engines were developed, liquid fuel, solid fuel, gas propulsion and electric propulsion engines.

The Yuzhnoye Office, over its 50 years history, has worked together with various scientific and industrial enterprises and has designed, manufactured and exploited rocket and rocket technology. It has developed mechanisms for cooperation at every stage of these projects and has found a way to promptly address technological issues that arose. It produces launch vehicles, satellites, various spacecraft, meeting the highest criteria.

Over all of these years, the Yuzhnoye Machine Building Plant was our main partner. It was the manufacturing facility which actually produced the rockets designed by the Yuzhnoye Office. At its height, we employed more than 10,000 engineers and more than 60,000 workers were employed at the manufacturing facility. At present, the numbers are smaller than that, 4,500 at the Design Office and 20,000 workers at the plant.

Mostly, the Office deals with the areas listed in this slide.

Over these 50 years, the Yuzhnoye Design Office developed military, inter-continental missiles, that was still in the days of the Soviet Union. Several

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types of such missiles were developed and manufactured including pioneering technological solutions. Obviously, that is all in the past now. Those military missiles were used as a basis for developing launch vehicles for peaceful purposes. We have developed a number of such launch vehicles. Some of them are still in use and their names are well-known around the world. These Cosmos, Cyclone, Dnepr and Zenit launch vehicles.

Furthermore, and I will dwell at greater length on that, we have been an active participant in the lunar exploration programme of the Soviet Union. We actually developed the lunar vehicle that was to descend, land on lunar surface and then take off and come back.

We also designed launch vehicles and that was an ____________ (not clear) step in our history for spacecraft, for manned and unmanned missions. Of great importance here is the fact that our Office was involved in a number of international projects, even in the days of the Soviet Union, and worked together with partners around the world providing a major contribution as a high-tech company. The Yuzhnoye Office is capable not only of providing launch services and facilities but it can offer comprehensive packages of services, starting with designing and manufacturing the actual spacecraft, then launching it, commissioning it and then maintaining it in orbit. As I said, 400 different spacecrafts of 70 types have been designed by the Yuzhnoye Office and for the first time ever, we developed mass manufacture of unified platforms used as a module in various types of spacecraft, which considerably brought down the expense involved in manufacturing spacecraft.

At present, we continue working on various types of spacecraft, for various purposes, primarily for remote sensing, Earth observation, communications, near-Earth studies, studies of solar activity and so forth. Using the experience of our experts and working with the best people around the world, we have achieved a high degree of reliability, while keeping the costs low for our products.

In addition, our users, clients and partners value the fact that we provide training facilities for training personnel and also carry out the actual launches for our customers.

Another important area of our work is the design and manufacture of rocket engines. I have cited some overall statistics as to the engines we produce. Tomorrow the Chief Designer of our Office, Mr. Shnyakin, will make a presentation on that subject

specifically on rocket engines, so you will get more details tomorrow afternoon.

In implementing design projects for spacecraft, we have to tackle a large number of intricate technological issues, sometimes come up with entirely new technologies and new materials, systems, modules, assemblies. Having accumulated all that experience, at present, the Yuzhnoye Company cannot only provide the package services that I mentioned earlier, but we can also share with others unique technological processes that are unprecedented and unparalleled in the world a lot of the time. And these technologies are used in various fields, not only the space industry, but others as well, providing reliability, cost-efficiency, environmentally clean processes, safety and security. A number of these technologies were highly evaluated at various international expos.

As I mentioned earlier, the Yuzhnoye Company, at present, provides launch facilities for its own launch vehicles and launch vehicles manufactured by the Yuzhnoye Machine Building Plant in cooperation with others. We provide the entire package of services from beginning to end, pre-launch, preparation launch, putting in orbit, maintaining in orbit, technical support of spacecraft and so forth. We also design and manufacture individual adapters for satellites, satellite delivery, ground-based information processing facilities, thermal resistance technologies, tele-metric information processing and real-time comfortable and well-equipped facilities for on the ground information processing staff.

We work with Boeing, with Norwegian partners, with companies around the world. We have been involved in the Sea Launch Project, which you may have heard of. We also have a joint venture involving the provision of the Dnepr launch vehicle to the Russian Space Agency and others and the Cyclone launch facility is also made available to our partners.

At present, the Yuzhnoye Company has far-reaching international cooperation. We are involved in a number of international projects on the global market. Some of these cooperation projects are listed in the slide. At this stage in our existence, we work with companies from various continents, all over the globe, which makes us confident that for years to come, we will be competitive on the high-technology market and have a unique niche that we will continue to fulfil.

At this session of the United Nations Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, we would like to report on a number of specific projects

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that, in our opinion, are of global significance and could be of interest to all of humankind and, therefore, require the support of the international community. We are a high-tech company, a specialist company, but we are convinced that space science and industry are faced with one over-arching object at present. Make access to outer space less costly. If that is achieved, this will allow more countries to participate in space activities and a number of applied projects of great practical value could be implemented that are being held back today by high costs involved. This work, of course, requires concentration of worldwide scientific, financial and human resources. It is really very difficult to make fundamentally new steps based on national resources alone. International cooperation is a sine qua(?) non condition here and we believe that this Committee could be instrumental in helping nations move towards a future where closer cooperation would be possible.

Even at present, a number of projects are underway that could benefit considerably from international cooperation, the involvement of other space agencies, other nations. The first such project that we wanted to bring to your attention is work on a space-based system for earthquake prediction. Even at this meeting this afternoon and this morning, we have heard a number of delegations mention earthquake prediction as an important objective. We have a project entitled the Poperedzhennya Project, which is particularly targeted at earthquake prediction, low-frequency electromagnetic radiation studies in the near-Earth space, the interaction that exists among the various processes, in the lithosphere, atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere systems, elaboration of satellite monitoring, methodology.

The next project that I wanted to mention, also in the context of a call for greater international cooperation to bring down space access costs, has to do with air-based launchers, launching spacecraft from aircraft. For a number of years, Ukraine and our Yuzhnoye Design Office have worked on such air-based launch facilities. We have made considerable headway and here Ukraine has a unique contribution to make, for it is in Ukraine that we have the Antonov Design Bureau that has given the world some of the major heavy cargo aircraft, Antonov aircraft, and our Bureau has provided a number of components and modules that could equip that type of aircraft for air-based launchers.

Our own facilities make it possible to provide countries with an opportunity to launch spacecraft from aircraft without the use of very expensive ground-based launch facilities which are few and far between.

And this type of air-based launch is of great value potentially to nations.

The next project that I wanted to mention is a satellite project that we have built space patrol. In our view, this is the first ever specialized telecommunications system which makes it possible for promptly responding to emergency situations on Earth with a view to preventing, stopping and mitigation various crisis situations, through real-time satellite communications from any point on the surface of the Earth. A system for managing and mitigating crisis situations could be used to protect human lives and property in crisis situations, remote guarding of objects wherever they are allocated, mitigating technogenic disasters, natural catastrophes, protecting both mobile and stationary projects of particular value, also various aspects of tele-medicine or child tracking. This is a multi-functional system which benefits from some of the most cutting-edge technologies. It could also be used to by-pass emergency breakdowns in gas and oil pipelines, dealing with forest fires, remote medical monitoring of various medical conditions and others.

The system has a number of advantages over other similar systems. One of its principle advantages is a very prompt system for notifying rescue services around the world. It has global coverage of the entire Earth’s surface. It is small in size, highly flexible and highly accurate. The space patrol system can use, in conjunction with the Global Positioning System, the Galileo satellite system and others and thus calculate with a high degree of accuracy and resolution, the location of objects wherever they are on the surface of the Earth and track crisis situations as they develop in real time.

Next, lunar projects. The word “lunar” or the Moon is heard more and more often today again after a hiatus of a number of years. We are pleased to note that the exploration of the Moon is back on the agenda and I would like to draw your attention to some of our accomplishments that date back to the years when the Soviet Union was still in competition with the United States or the race to the Moon, as it was called at that time. At that time, we developed a unit for landing a lunar vehicle on the surface of the Moon, the so-called E-Unit or Block E. It is fully developed, ready for use. It has been tested both on ground-based facilities but also three tests have been carried out in outer space. Participation in lunar projects is something that would be a natural for my company. We have unique experience and, today, when the world lunar or everything to do with the Moon is increasingly at the forefront of scientists minds, we are thinking of

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returning to that particular field where we have been so successful in the past.

The next project which also appears to be quite promising and we have all the technology in place for that already, is a system for disposing of hazardous radioactive waste in outer space. We know it is an issue that is very topical and very acute today, moving radioactive waste away from the Earth to protect the biosphere. This is something that has become a major force holding back a lot of technological progress and unless ways are found of safely, and in a cost-efficient manner, taking this hazardous waste away from the Earth in the near future, it would really affect further technological progress. Varying active waste is increasingly not an option, leading, as we know, it will inevitably to ecological disasters. And the most hazardous situation here applies to high radioactivity waste, which is highly toxic.

When such waste is buried, it is a matter of ongoing expenses, huge expenses, on keeping such burial grounds safe and, of course, putting it into outer space is becoming more and more a matter of survival for humankind. At present, we have the technology for taking highly radioactive waste away from the Earth and into outer space and in economic terms, and cost-efficiency terms, this is a programme that can well be implemented. Ukraine and Sweden and some other countries manufacture large amounts of nuclear power every year, leading to huge amounts of highly toxic, radioactive waste. Seven hundred and fourteen kilograms of such waste every year in Ukraine, Sweden and the United Kingdom. All of that waste can be taken into space by only two launches of the Zenit-3 types spacecraft.

In our preliminary estimates, the project would cost no more than one billion dollars and the economic effect from implementing it would be to the tune of two billion dollars at least in terms of income obtained.

Talking about power engineering, I should also mention the Solar Key Project employing space-based technologies for focusing solar light as it passes through the upper strata of the Earth’s atmosphere. Calculations of the distribution of reflected solar radiation in outer space have revealed an area of increased radiation concentration along the axis that passes through the centres of the Sun and the Earth. And this physical phenomenon is at the foundation of the Solar Key Project. This is a space-based power manufacturing system, including reflecting spacecraft and energy receivers on the surface of the Earth. This

is entirely feasible, all the calculations are in place and demonstrate that using this technology could provide up to 0.07 GW of electric power. And this highly concentrated radiation area could be used to locate several reflecting spacecraft and then new spacecraft can be added increasing energy output as a result of the application of this system which will go a long way towards meeting humankind’s needs for cheap energy. Already today, the technologies exist to start the first trial use of this technology, to actually manufacture energy.

And the last project I wanted to mention is called the Vita Rescue Project. Around the world, in one year’s time, up to 300 maritime accidents happen, that is maritime accidents only, on the high seas. A person can survive in seawater on the high seas from 30 minutes to a little more than a hour and, of course, not counting other hazards such as sharks and so forth. By the time rescue aircraft or vessels reach the site of an accident, this time would be long gone so the chances of a person to survive in a maritime accident like that are really minimal, next to non-existent, if traditional rescue facilities are use, such as aircraft or sea-faring vessels. We offer an entirely new technological approach, a space-based system, using heavy rocket launch vehicle of the Dnepr (Vita?) type to bring rescue operations, supplies and personnel to the site of maritime accidents. It takes about 60 minutes maximum to reach hard to access remote areas in case of accident using this technology. The Dnepr(?) rocket delivers a rescue module weighing about 5,000 kilograms to practically any point on Earth, that such a module includes life support systems, floating rafts, tents, food, clothes and so on and so forth.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have entered the twenty-first century, we the Yuzhnoye Company, with great experience in the area of space technologies but we believe this to be the heritage of all humankind. We do not have the sole use or ownership of these technologies. We are prepared to put them at the disposal of humankind. Therefore, we are ready to cooperate with whoever is interested from designing launch vehicles and satellites, through launch services and various space technologies of the kind that I have briefly outlined here. Developing mutually beneficial cooperation is a priority objective for Ukraine’s space industry. We want to broaden and deepen our contacts with the leading aerospace companies around the world, include the work of the Yuzhnoye Office in global international projects. We are open to cooperation for commercial and scientific projects, all for the noble objective of making space serve the interests of the entire humankind.

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And now I would like you to see a brief video presentation about my company. Thank you very much.

Video presentation

The CHAIRMAN: I want to thank Mr. Degtyarov of Ukraine for that exhaustive presentation on the space activities of his country. I cannot summarize what you have presented except to say that, to use your own words, you are carrying out activities that are in the interests of all humanity, ecological security and world development, and we hope you will stay along that line and the world will thank you for that. Even though we said that priority number one at this meeting and the UNISPACE III + 5, the time we have planned to give UNISPACE III + 5 this afternoon has been exhausted. However, you have the CRP that has been circulated to all of you. While you are looking at that, I will need to make some comments and that is that I would now adjourn this meeting of the Committee. It is one minute to 6.00 p.m. In order for the Working Group on UNISPACE III + 5 to do what is feasible, taking into consideration the text that has been circulated to you. I will leave that to Mr. Hedman to tell you.

We will also reconvene promptly tomorrow morning at 10.00 a.m. At that time, we will continue and conclude our consideration of agenda items 5, General Exchange of Views, and agenda item 6, Ways and Means of Maintaining Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes. Those two items we will conclude tomorrow morning.

Thereafter, we will continue our consideration of agenda item 7, Implementation of the Recommendations of UNISPACE III.

We will also take up agenda item 8, Report of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee at its Forty-First Session. And time permitting, we will also begin our consideration of agenda item 9, Report of the Legal Subcommittee at its Forty-Third Session.

At the end of tomorrow morning’s meeting, presentations are scheduled for China and for CEOS, Committee on Earth Observation Satellites. Thereafter, Mr. Hedman of Sweden will take the Chair for his Working Group on UNISPACE III + 5 Review and hold its third meeting.

Are there any questions on this schedule for tomorrow’s work?

If not, I will invite Mr. Hedman now. You want to speak from there. OK, Mr. Hedman, you have the floor.

Mr. N. HEDMAN (Sweden): Thank you very much Mr. Chairman. We lost the second meeting of the Working Group today since we ran out of time. I am aware of the fact that the interpreters actually were ready to give us 15 minutes more but considering that, only having 10 minutes for the Working Group would not be very helpful. So we will not have any meeting today. The second meeting of the Working Group will be held tomorrow after the plenary tomorrow morning. As you said, Mr. Chairman, there has been circulated a CRP.7 and this document contains some proposals that I, as the Chair, is making to improving the report so I would really like delegations to have a look at this document, CRP.7, together with the documents that we will review in tomorrow morning’s Working Group and I am referring primarily to the documents L.255, L.255/Add.1, Add.2, Add.3. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much Mr. Hedman.

Are there any questions on that?

If not, I will adjourn this meeting and convene promptly at 10.00 a.m. tomorrow morning. We have a lot of work to do. Please be punctual tomorrow morning.

This meeting is adjourned. Thank you.

The meeting closed at 6.03 p.m.