UN Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

The 53rd meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is currently taking place in Vienna, Austria, from 9-18 June.  CSIS is honored to be a part of the US delegation to COPUOS. 

COPUOS, which has 69 member states, meets annually “to review the scope of international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, to devise programmes in this field to be undertaken under United Nations auspices, to encourage continued research and the dissemination of information on outer space matters, and to study legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space.” 

The COPUOS meeting opened yesterday, June 9th, with the election of the Chair and two Vice-Chairs for the next two-year period. Romania’s Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu was elected Chair for the 2010-2011 period; Nomfuneko Majaja of South Africa  was elected First Vice-Chair; and Raimundo González Aninat of Chile as Second Vice-Chair/Rapporteur.    They replace Ciro Arévalo Yepes of Colombia, Thailand’s Suvit Vibulsresth, and Filipe Duarte Santos of Portugal, respectively.  After additional opening remarks, the remainder of the day was given over to a general exchange of views.

General exchange of views serves as a kind of an opening statement for COPUOS.  Each country has the opportunity to briefly discuss their interests and hopes for the Committee, as well as provide an overview of their activities over the past year.    International cooperation featured prominently in the views exchanged Wednesday – many countries explicitly supported continued cooperation, and in reviewing current activities, most countries discussed projects pursued jointly with international partners.  A common theme in the general exchange of views, particularly from developing countries, was support for the UN’s Programme on Space Applications, which extends the use of space applications around the world.  Similarly, the ongoing use of space assets in response to natural disasters was frequently discussed.  This takes place through the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UNSPIDER), among others.  Finally, many countries also expressed support for Tunisia, which is hoping to become a member of COPUOS.  CSIS will be at COPUOS until Wednesday – please check for future updates.

Ashley Bander
Research Associate, Space Initiatives