International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 30 International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, published in 2009.

What else is in this group?

78 documents · 1960–2025

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2025).

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/76	International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space	4,167	–
2024	A/RES/79/87	International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space	4,172	–
2023	A/RES/78/72	International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space	3,907	–
2022	A/RES/77/121	International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space	3,657	–
2021	A/RES/76/76	International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space	3,618	–

This group bundles related documents that are not individually ordered.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 5	Peaceful uses of outer space	38

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 5	Peaceful uses of outer space	38	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

What’s in this document?

46 operative paragraphs

Endorses the report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on the work of its fifty-second session;Error: Reference source not found

Agrees that the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, at its fifty-third session, should consider the items recommended by the Committee at its fifty-second session;

Notes that, at its forty-eighth session, the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space continued its work,⁸ as mandated by the General Assembly in its resolution 63/90;

⁸Ibid., chap. II.D; and A/AC.105/935.

Agrees that the Legal Subcommittee, at its forty-ninth session, should consider the items recommended by the Committee,⁹ taking into account the concerns of all countries, in particular those of developing countries;

⁹See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/64/20), paras. 224, 226 and 227.

Also agrees that the Legal Subcommittee, at its forty-ninth session, should reconvene its Working Group on the Status and Application of the Five United Nations Treaties on Outer Space, its Working Group on Matters Relating to the Definition and Delimitation of Outer Space and its Working Group on National Legislation Relevant to the Peaceful Exploration and Use of Outer Space;

Urges States that have not yet become parties to the international treaties governing the uses of outer space¹⁰ to give consideration to ratifying or acceding to those treaties in accordance with their domestic law, as well as incorporating them in their national legislation;

¹⁰Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 610, No. 8843); Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 672, No. 9574); Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 961, No. 13810); Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1023, No. 15020); and Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1363, No. 23002).

Notes that, at its forty-sixth session, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space continued its work,¹¹ as mandated by the General Assembly in its resolution 63/90;

¹¹See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/64/20), chap. II.C; and A/AC.105/933.

Agrees that the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, at its forty-seventh session, should consider the items recommended by the Committee,¹² taking into account the concerns of all countries, in particular those of developing countries;

¹²See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/64/20), paras. 163 and 164.

Also agrees that the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, at its forty-seventh session, should reconvene its Working Group of the Whole, its Working Group on the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space and its Working Group on Near-Earth Objects;

Welcomes the fact that the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, at its forty-seventh session, will begin consideration under a multi-year workplan of two new items, entitled “International Space Weather Initiative”¹³ and “Long-term sustainability of outer space activities”,¹⁴ as agreed by the Committee;

¹³Ibid., paras. 155 and 164; and A/AC.105/933, annex I, para. 16.

¹⁴See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/64/20), paras. 161 and 164.

Welcomes with satisfaction the Safety Framework for Nuclear Power Source Applications in Outer Space, adopted by the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee at its forty-sixth session and endorsed by the Committee at its fifty-second session;¹⁵

¹⁵Ibid., para. 138; and A/AC.105/934.

Notes that the International Atomic Energy Agency Commission on Safety Standards agreed on the Safety Framework at its twenty-fifth meeting, which was held in Vienna from 22 to 24 April 2009, and welcomes the constructive and efficient cooperation between the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the International Atomic Energy Agency in the preparation of the Safety Framework, which is an example of successful inter-agency cooperation within the United Nations system;

Notes with appreciation that some States are already implementing space debris mitigation measures on a voluntary basis, through national mechanisms and consistent with the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee and with the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space,¹⁶ endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/217;

¹⁶See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-second Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/62/20), paras. 117 and 118, and annex.

Invites other States to implement, through relevant national mechanisms, the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space;Error: Reference source not found

Considers that it is essential that Member States pay more attention to the problem of collisions of space objects, including those with nuclear power sources, with space debris, and other aspects of space debris, calls for the continuation of national research on this question, for the development of improved technology for the monitoring of space debris and for the compilation and dissemination of data on space debris, also considers that, to the extent possible, information thereon should be provided to the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, and agrees that international cooperation is needed to expand appropriate and affordable strategies to minimize the impact of space debris on future space missions;

Urges all States, in particular those with major space capabilities, to contribute actively to the goal of preventing an arms race in outer space as an essential condition for the promotion of international cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes;

Notes with appreciation that the activities planned by the United Nations Programme on Space Applications for 2010 would address, inter alia, water resources management, socio-economic benefits of space activities, small satellite technology for sustainable development, space weather, global navigation satellite systems, search and rescue and space law;¹⁷

¹⁷Ibid., Sixty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/64/20), para. 82.

Welcomes the progress made by the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems towards achieving compatibility and interoperability among global and regional space-based positioning, navigation and timing systems and in the promotion of the use of global navigation satellite systems and their integration into national infrastructure, particularly in developing countries, and notes with satisfaction that the International Committee held its third meeting in Pasadena, United States of America, from 8 to 12 December 2008 and its fourth meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, from 14 to 18 September 2009, and that its fifth meeting will be jointly organized by Italy and the European Commission in 2010;

Endorses the recommendation of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space that the Office for Outer Space Affairs of the Secretariat should continue to serve as the executive secretariat of the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems and its Providers’ Forum;¹⁸

¹⁸Ibid., para. 133.

Notes with satisfaction the progress made within the framework of the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) in the implementation of the platform programme for the period 2007–2009;

Endorses the workplan of the UN-SPIDER programme for the biennium 2010–2011,¹⁹ and encourages Member States to provide all support necessary, on a voluntary basis, to UN-SPIDER, including financial support, to enable it to carry out the workplan;

¹⁹A/AC.105/937, annex.

Welcomes the fact that, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 61/110, regional support offices were established in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nigeria and Romania, and that a cooperation agreement was reached with the Asian Disaster Reduction Centre, to support the implementation of the activities of the UN-SPIDER programme;²⁰

²⁰See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/64/20), para. 122.

Notes with appreciation that the African regional centres for space science and technology education in the French and English languages, located in Morocco and Nigeria, respectively, as well as the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific and the Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Latin America and the Caribbean, affiliated to the United Nations, have continued their education programmes in 2009;

Welcomes the fact that the regional centres would serve as International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems information centres;²¹

²¹Ibid., para. 132.

Agrees that the regional centres should continue to report to the Committee on their activities on an annual basis;

Emphasizes that regional and interregional cooperation in the field of space activities is essential to strengthen the peaceful uses of outer space, assist States in the development of their space capabilities and contribute to the achievement of the goals of the United Nations Millennium Declaration,Error: Reference source not found and to that end fosters interregional dialogue on space matters between Member States;

Recognizes, in this regard, the important role played by conferences and other mechanisms in strengthening regional and international cooperation among States, such as the Third African Leadership Conference on Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Development, to be held in Algiers from 7 to 9 December 2009; the sixteenth session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum, to be held in Bangkok from 26 to 29 January 2010 in cooperation with the Sentinel Asia project; the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, with headquarters in Beijing, which started operating formally in December 2008; and the International Air and Space Fair, to be held in Santiago from 23 to 28 March 2010;

Notes with appreciation that since the adoption of the Declaration of San Francisco de Quito by the Fifth Space Conference of the Americas in July 2006, more States in the Latin America and Caribbean region have set up national space entities of a civilian nature, thus laying the foundation for enhanced regional cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and recalls that in the Declaration, States in the Latin America and Caribbean region were invited to, inter alia, “set up national space entities to lay the foundation for a regional entity for cooperation”;

Welcomes, in that regard, the fact that the Government of Mexico will host the Sixth Space Conference of the Americas from 22 to 27 November 2010 and that the preparatory meeting for the Conference will be held in Santiago in June 2010;

Emphasizes the need to increase the benefits of space technology and its applications and to contribute to an orderly growth of space activities favourable to sustained economic growth and sustainable development in all countries, including mitigation of the consequences of disasters, in particular in the developing countries;

Notes that space science and technology and their applications could make important contributions to economic, social and cultural development and welfare, as indicated in the resolution entitled “The Space Millennium: Vienna Declaration on Space and Human Development”,Error: Reference source not found its resolution 59/2 and the Plan of Action of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on the implementation of the recommendations of UNISPACE III;²²

²²See A/59/174, sect. VI.B.

Notes with appreciation that a number of the recommendations set out in the Plan of Action have been implemented and that satisfactory progress is being made in implementing the outstanding recommendations;

Urges all Member States to continue to contribute to the Trust Fund for the United Nations Programme on Space Applications to enhance the capacity of the Office for Outer Space Affairs to provide technical and legal advisory services in accordance with the Plan of Action, while maintaining the priority thematic areas agreed by the Committee;

Reiterates that the benefits of space technology and its applications should continue to be brought to the attention, in particular, of the major United Nations conferences and summits for economic, social and cultural development and related fields and that the use of space technology should be promoted towards achieving the objectives of those conferences and summits and for implementing the United Nations Millennium Declaration;

Notes with appreciation that the initiative of the Chairman of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to seek a holistic approach for enhancing coordination between Member States and the United Nations system in applying space science and technology to meet the challenges to development of all countries and to further promote and strengthen the use of space technology and its applications in the United Nations system would be further developed for the consideration of the Committee at its fifty-third session;²³

²³See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/64/20), paras. 15 and 290.

Welcomes the increased efforts to strengthen further the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities as the central United Nations mechanism for building partnerships and coordinating space-related activities within the framework of the ongoing reforms in the United Nations system to work in unison and deliver as one, and encourages entities of the United Nations system to participate fully in the work of the Inter-Agency Meeting;

Urges entities of the United Nations system, particularly those participating in the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities, to continue to examine, in cooperation with the Committee, how space science and technology and their applications could contribute to implementing the United Nations Millennium Declaration on the development agenda, particularly in the areas relating to, inter alia, food security and increasing opportunities for education;

Invites the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities to continue to contribute to the work of the Committee and to report to the Committee on the work conducted at its annual sessions;

Notes with satisfaction that the open informal meetings, held in conjunction with the annual sessions of the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities and in which representatives of member States and observers in the Committee participate, provide a constructive mechanism for an active dialogue between the entities of the United Nations system and member States and observers in the Committee;

Welcomes the contribution of the Committee to the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development,²⁴ and agrees that the Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs of the Secretariat should continue to participate in the sessions of the Commission to raise awareness and promote the benefits of space science and technology for sustainable development, and that the Director of the Division for Sustainable Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat should continue to be invited to participate in the sessions of the Committee to inform it how it could further contribute to the work of the Commission;

²⁴See A/AC.105/872, A/AC.105/892 and A/AC.105/944.

Requests the United Nations University and other scientific institutions and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean to explore the possibilities of providing training and policy research at the crossroads of international law, climate change and outer space;

Requests the Committee to continue to consider, as a matter of priority, ways and means of maintaining outer space for peaceful purposes and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session, and agrees that during its consideration of the matter the Committee could continue to consider ways to promote regional and interregional cooperation based on experiences stemming from the Space Conferences of the Americas, the African Leadership Conferences on Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Development and the role space technology could play in the implementation of recommendations of the World Summit on Sustainable Development;

Endorses the composition of the bureaux of the Committee and its subcommittees for the period 2010–2011,²⁵ and agrees that the Committee and its subcommittees should elect their officers at their respective sessions in 2010 in accordance with that composition;

²⁵See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 20 (A/64/20), para. 309.

Also endorses the decision of the Committee to grant permanent observer status to the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization;²⁶

²⁶Ibid., para. 311.

Notes that each of the regional groups has the responsibility for actively promoting the participation in the work of the Committee and its subsidiary bodies of the member States of the Committee that are also members of the respective regional groups, and agrees that the regional groups should consider this Committee-related matter among their members;

Requests entities of the United Nations system and other international organizations to continue and, where appropriate, to enhance their cooperation with the Committee and to provide it with reports on the issues dealt with in the work of the Committee and its subsidiary bodies, notes with satisfaction that a panel discussion on space applications and global health was held at United Nations Headquarters on 20 October 2009, and agrees that a panel discussion should be held at the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly on a topic to be selected by the Committee, taking into account the panel discussions held on climate change, food security and global health.

International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

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