The Global Space Agenda: UN COPUOS

The UN Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) was established in 1959 to review the scope of international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, to devise programs 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. With President Bush's Vision for Space Exploration, the European Aurora Program, JAXA 2025, to name a few, nations are once again reexamining their outlook on space exploration. Similarly, the UN must also reassess its priorities and outlook on all space activities, if it wishes to remain at the forefront of discussions about how we use and interact with space.

At the invitation of CSIS's Human Space Exploration Initiative (HSEI), new UN COPUOS Chairman, Gérard Brachet, addressed these developments and the future of the UN's role in space as part of the CSIS Global Space Agenda series. Vincent Sabathier, senior fellow and director of Space Initiatives, introduced Brachet and moderated the event.

The CSIS Global Space Agenda is a forum provided for interested national parties in current and emerging space-faring nations to discuss their progress as well as potential interest in engagement with other groups. Given the recent resurgent interest in space exploration around the globe – from renewed visions and commitments for exploration programs to bold new space programs in all space faring nations, it is now time for international reengagement to harness cooperation for the lasting benefit of exploration. These meetings of the Global Space Agenda are intended to augment existing dialog among international partners by providing a new, neutral venue for discussion, one in which all interested sectors can communicate openly and directly with each other.