The role of the united nations in promoting the peaceful uses of outer space

摘要

The focal point of the United Nations activities in the field of outer space is the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space(COPUOS), set up in 1959 by the General Assembly in order to review the scope of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of Outer space, to devise programmes in this field to be undertaken under United Nations Auspices, to encourage continued research and dissemination of space-related information, and To consider legal issues arising form the exploration of outer space. Since its establishment, The Committee and its two subcommittees-the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and The Legal Subcommittee-have addressed such issues as benefits from space, activities, the Definition and delimitation of outer space and the use of the geostationary orbit, implications Of remote sensing, space sciences, space-based communications, navigation and meteorological Systems, as well as use of nuclear power sources in outer space, debris and spin-off Benefits of space technology.