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UN recommends new treaty to ensure peace & security in outer space
Context
The United Nations (UN) has recommended a new treaty for ensuring peace and security as well as preventing an arms race in outer space.
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What is Outer Space?
With no air to scatter sunlight and produce a blue sky, space appears as a black blanket dotted with stars. |
About the treaty:
- Currently, there is no agreed international framework on space resource exploration, exploitation & utilisation.
- The treaty has also recommended a combination of ‘binding and non-binding norms’ to address emerging risks to outer space security, safety and sustainability.
- The recommendations come ahead of the UN Summit of the Future, which will be held on September 22-23, 2024, in New York.
- Objective:
- In the view of conflict which could arise if countries do not agree on international principles on activities in the exploration, exploitation and utilisation of space resources.
- It could also lead to environmental degradation and cultural loss.
Key provisions of the treaty:
- The UN recommended an effective framework for coordinating space situational awareness, space object manoeuvres and space objects and events.
- They also urged member states to develop norms and principles for space debris removal that consider the legal and scientific aspects of space debris removal.
- As for space resource activities, they propose an effective framework for sustainable exploration, exploitation and utilisation of the Moon and other celestial bodies.
Problems to be addressed:
- Issues of Space debris:
- More than 24,000 objects which are 10 centimetres or larger, about one million smaller than 10 cm and likely more than 130 million smaller than one cm have been recorded.
- Increase in Number of satellites:
- The number of satellite launches has shot up exponentially in the past decade after it stayed consistent from 1957-2012.
- In 2013, there were 210 new launches, which increased to 600 in 2019, and 1,200 in 2020 and 2,470 in 2022.
- Increased involvement of countries:
- Due to the increased involvement of private sector in counties like the United States, China, India and Japan can develop a situation of conflict in future space.
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Currently the space debris and any issue related to Space are addressed by national and regional bodies in coordination. |
Existing treaties:
- In 1959, the United Nations established the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to review and enable international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.
- In 1963, countries agreed to prohibit testing nuclear weapons in outer space; in 1977, the prohibition of altering the space environment as a weapon was agreed upon.
- More recently, member states have set up a series of guidelines, frameworks and recommendations on issues such as mitigation of space debris, nuclear power source safety, the long-term sustainability of outer space activities and transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities.
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