ASSURING THE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF OUTER SPACE ACTIVITIES: THE ROLE OF UN COPUOS

摘要

The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) and its two Subcommittees have addressed various aspects of space sustainability under a number of agenda items for several years. In 2010, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of COPUOS established a Working Group on the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities. The Working Group is tasked to consider current practices, operating procedures, technical standards and policies associated with the long-term sustainability of outer space activities throughout all the phases of a mission life cycle. The Working Group is taking as its legal framework the existing United Nations treaties and principles governing the activities of States in the exploration and use of outer space; it is not considering the development of new legal instruments. The main outputs of the Working Group will be a report on the long-term sustainability of outer space activities and a consolidated set of voluntary best practice guidelines that could be applied by States, international organizations, national non-governmental organizations and private sector entities to enhance the long-term sustainability of outer space activities for all space actors and for all beneficiaries of space activities. This paper presents the status of the work of this Working Group and discusses the relationship of this work to the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures for Outer Space Activities.