AwaitingLaunch_1397728623369

epresentatives in order to discuss African concerns prior to the Open-
Ended Consultations in Kiev in May 2013 and Open-Ended Consultations in
Bangkok, Thailand in October 2013. At the Bangkok meeting, it was seen
that the EU had improved the document compared to the one presented at
the two previous meetings.
In its current document, the main purpose of CoC is to enhance the security,
safety and sustainability of outer space activities. Its guiding principles
include freedom of access to space for peaceful purposes; respect for the
security and integrity of objects in space orbit; the responsibility of countries
to refrain from harmful interference with each other's assets and to prevent
conflict in space; and the inherent right of all states to individual and
collective self-defence. Even though the purpose of the document was stated
as above, many developing countries fear that ICoC may be used as an
instrument to pick on some of the countries with different ideologies from
those of western countries.
Presently, various states in the world are depending significantly on space
technologies for the purposes of communication, remote sensing and
navigation. Various assets in space could encounter an intentional or
accidental collision with orbital space debris resulting from human activities.
At present, various activities in outer space are governed by a few globally
206
acknowledged treaty mechanisms like the Outer Space Treaty (OST, 1967)
207
and Moon Treaty (1979). The agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the
Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space
208
(Rescue Agreement, 1968) and other agreements such as the Convention
on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (Space
209
Liability Convention, 1972) are other important treaties in this regard. The
UN has also undertaken various initiatives like the COPUOS (1959) and
PAROS (1982). The UN has produced various General Assembly
Resolutions, Conference on Disarmament (CD) working papers on the issue.
In recent times, apart from the EU-sponsored ICoC, two other initiatives
have come to the fore. One, a Model Code of Conduct prepared by the
210
Stimson Center was made available for discussion and debate during
October 2007. Two, in February 2008, Russia and China put on the table a
draft of the “Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space
211
Treaty” (PPWT), an international, legally-binding treaty that would ban the
weaponisation of space. Neither of these initiatives has generated much
178 | Awaiting Launch: Perspectives on the Draft ICoC for Outer Space Activities