Security in Space The Next Generation - UNIDIR

note that such weapons would obviously cause tensions among states and
disrupt the currently effective cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space.
Similarly, the Outer Space Treaty bans military activities on the Moon and
other celestial bodies, but it is silent about such activities in outer space.
These gaps in the international legal framework must be closed if we are to
avoid military competition or confl ict in outer space.
There are worrying signs that strategic planners are seeking greater use
of outer space for military purposes, including the development of space
weapons. Tests and use of anti-satellite weapons reinforce such concerns,
underlining the urgency with which to address the issue of space security.
Such exercises have implications for security in outer space, not only from
the perspective of military capabilities, but also with respect to the resulting
debris.
If we do not prevent an arms race in outer space, international security will
be damaged, and—as a result of this—strategic stability will be endangered.
We cannot afford delay in preventing an arms race in outer space.
As you know, the General Assembly has reiterated that the Conference
on Disarmament, as the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum,
has the primary role in the negotiation of a multilateral agreement, or
agreements, on the prevention of an arms race in outer space in all its
aspects. As Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament and
Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the Conference, I
would like to update you on the progress made in the discussions regarding
the prevention of the arms race in outer space, also known as PAROS in the
disarmament community.
Although the Conference has not been able to engage formally in substantive
work on this issue for the past decade, no one disagrees as to the need
to address the challenges facing space security. This was demonstrated
during the Conference’s informal discussions on PAROS earlier in the year,
continuing last year’s in-depth debate on transparency and confi dencebuilding
measures and elements for a new treaty prohibiting an arms race
in outer space.
On 12 February 2008, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov tabled a
Chinese–Russian draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons
3