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It was also raised by the author of this paper, then chairman of the
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UNCOPUOS in his paper “Future role and activities of the UN COPUOS”
presented to member states' delegations at the plenary session of UN
COPUOS in June 2007. Following this initiative, at its 52nd session, in June
2009, the French delegation to UNCOPUOS formally proposed the topic of
“Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities” as a new agenda item
of COPUOS in 2010.
COPUOS agreed to include this item as a new agenda item in its Scientific
and Technical Sub-Committee (STSC) in 2010 and beyond. The
COPUOS/STSC then decided to set up a formal Working Group to address
this issue, as it had done in 2003 for the space debris issue. Dr. Peter
Martinez (South Africa) was selected to be the chairman of this new
dedicated Working Group and its first meeting took place in conjunction
with the 53rd session of COPUOS in Vienna in June 2010. The UN
COPUOS Working Group will conclude its work in 2014. In fact, the
COPUOS/STSC will consider the report during its February 2014 session.
EU Proposal for ICoC
In parallel to the COPUOS activities on Long-Term Sustainability of Outer
Space Activities, the discussions on the PAROS at the CD in Geneva were
not making any progress because the CD could not agree on a work plan. As
a consequence, the Council of the EU has taken in 2007 an initiative to
propose an ICoC for Outer Space Activities. A first version of the EU draft
Code of Conduct was approved by the EU Council in December 2008 and
widely circulated.
In a nutshell, the
safety, sustainability
and security of outer
space activities are
fragile, particularly if
one takes a long-term
view. Responsible use
of outer space by all
actors is essential to
preserve outer space
as a safe and secure
environment.
Bilateral consultations with many spacefaring nations were conducted by the
EU in 2009–2010, leading to a new version of the EU-proposed ICoC
circulated in September 2010. A first multilateral meeting took place on 5
June 2012 in Vienna, where an updated version of the draft ICoC was
presented by the newly established European External Action Service
(EEAS) and a second multilateral forum took place in Kiev, Ukraine, from
15-16 May 2013. This led to the issuing of yet another version of the draft
ICoC in September 2013, presented and discussed at the third multilateral
forum in Bangkok in November 2013. The EU European External Action
Service is presently considering the comments it has received at this meeting
in order to plan for the next stage of consultation.
Towards A More Responsible Use of Outer Space | www.orfonline.org 83