ROOM
96
Opinion
However, there remain some differences related
to the anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty and
UNISPACE+50 compared to previous UNISPACE
conferences. If new regulatory mechanisms,
agreements or institutions are to be created, they
would need to adequately tackle a new range
of issues, such as the rising number of smaller
countries taking part in the exploration and use
of outer space, the continuous rise of commercial
space activities and related growth of private
space ventures.
How should global governance of space
activities deal with new trends and developments
in national security space or space weaponisation?
Or, how can we effectively regulate continuing
congestion of Earth orbits and radio spectrum?
The potential of the 50th anniversary
conference in issues of global governance of space
activities does not necessarily lie in adopting
new international agreements. Opening up the
existing legal regime could be a tricky decision
given ongoing geopolitical realities in the world
and no significant progress in the hard-law part of
international space law achieved in recent years.
I believe it is in the interest of all members of
the international space community to actively
participate in the ongoing process between
now and 2018. Often it is the journey itself that
is considered to be more important than the
destination - and one could certainly apply this as
we approach this landmark opportunity.
The absence of significant achievements in
recent history at a UN level might create an
argument for questioning the importance and role
of the United Nations in space affairs, especially
as recent efforts to proceed with new initiatives
outside of the UN have been unsuccessful. The
International Code of Conduct for Space Activities,
for example, led by the European Union (EU), is to
all intents and purposes in ‘hibernation’.
The United Nations will never be a space power
and this is not the role the UN should aim to play in
the global space sector. The approach taken by the
UN office for Outer Space Affairs or UN COPUOS
is not flawless - but on the international stage it
still constitutes the best option we have to evaluate
and adopt the most efficient mechanism of global
governance of space activities.
One criticism often levelled at the UN
COPUOS is that it does not adapt its agenda fast
enough in comparison to the quick evolution
and contemporary trends in the global space
sector. It is therefore understandable that
finding common grounds and similar mind
sets between the diplomatic, political and legal
Distribution of
Fengyun-1C debris (red), a
weather satellite
intentionally destroyed by
China in 2007. Orbit of the
International Space
Station is shown in green.
One criticism often levelled at the UN COPUOS
is that it does not adapt its agenda fast enough
in comparison to the quick evolution and
contemporary trends in the global space sector
TS Kelso/Celestrak
