UN First Committee

2007 First Committee Resolutions

Outer Space (Disarmament Aspects)

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UNGA 62/20 (L.34)
Prevention of an arms race in outer space

Introduced by Sri Lanka.

This annual resolution, unchanged from last year, reaffirms existing political and legal agreements including the Outer Space Treaty and the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, and notes that the conclusion of an international agreement to prevent an arms race in outer space "remains a priority task" of the Ad Hoc Committee in the CD. The resolution places emphasis on the need for greater transparency, in light of the growing use of space, and for confidence building measures that could form the heart of any agreement. It reaffirms the urgency of preventing an arms race in outer space and notes the inadequacy of the existing legal regime, emphasizing the necessity of examining further measures with effective and appropriate verification provisions, and including the issue of weaponization. It calls for the CD to complete its examination and update its mandate as decided in 1992 and to establish an ad hoc committee as soon as possible, noting that there are no objections to this step in principle. The resolution also welcomes the substantive discussions on this subject in the 2007 session of the CD.

First Committee: 170-1-1
UNGA: 178-1-1

For the third year in a row, the United States cast the single vote in opposition to this resolution. Israel has abstained for the past two years, after joining the United States in opposition in 2005. Unlike in previous years, the United States made no statement before or after the vote, however its opposition to new legal regimes governing use of outer space, as enshrined in its 2006 National Space Policy, are widely known. Although the European Union voted in favor as a bloc, in a statement after the vote it faulted the resolution for failing to take into account recent developments in the CD, notably progress in attaining consensus on a programme of work. After the vote, the Japanese delegation clarified its position that any discussion on PAROS should take place without prejudice to any other issue in the CD.

Over the past year, several developments both fostering and undermining space security have occurred. In January 2007, China tested an anti-satellite weapon against one of its own ageing weather satellites. The United States, while condemning the test, forged ahead with several space and missile defence projects with dual-use capabilities. On the other hand, the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the General Assembly adopted debris mitigation guidelines, the European Union, Austria, Bangladesh, and Kenya submitted proposals on space security to the Secretary-General pursuant to GA resolution 61/75 (2006), and discussions on PAROS were included in the comprehensive programme of work that was nearly adopted in the CD.

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UNGA 62/43 (L.41)
Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities

Introduced by Russia.

This resolution, following up on the same resolution last year, merely "notes" the report submitted by the Secretary-General, with an annex containing concrete proposals submitted member states on international outer space transparency and confidence building measures, "in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting international cooperation and the prevention of an arms race in outer space." It directs the Secretary-General to submit a similar report to the next session of the General Assembly, and further invites states to continue submitting proposals. The resolution also continues to assert that measures are needed to prevent an arms race in outer space, including weaponization, and past resolutions and report that "emphasize the need for increased transparency and confirm the importance of confidence-building measures as a means conducive to ensuring the attainment of the objective of the prevention of an arms race in outer space."

First Committee: 168-1-1
UNGA: 179-1-1

It is believed that Russia is pursuing a step-by-step strategy toward eventual establishment of another group of governmental experts to further study this issue and to make proposals, however, for the moment this initiative appears to be stalled. The resolution did, however, pick up several additional European co-sponsors, including Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland. Italy and Portugal dropped off the list of sponsors.

As in previous years, the United States cast the lone vote against and Israel abstained. The US delegation, however, stated they had tried to work with Russia to revise the text in order to be able to sign onto the resolution, but that they could ultimately not agree to the linkage between confidence-building measures and prevention of an arms race in outer space.

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© 2007 The Acronym Institute.