Programmes and activities of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
- Paper number
IAC-09.E3.2.2
- Author
Dr. Werner R. Balogh, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Austria
- Year
2009
- Abstract
The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was established in 1958 in reaction to the launch of Sputnik I in October 1957 as an ad hoc Committee of the United Nations General Assembly. Confirmed by the General Assembly as a permanent body in 1959, it continues to be the primary forum of the United Nations for inter-governmental discussions on the peaceful uses of outer space. To support the work of COPUOS and its subcommittees, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) was established in 1962, originally as a unit within the Department of Political and Security Council Affairs. Its main task is to help with the implementation of decisions of the Committee and the General Assembly concerning a wide range of space-related activities. In addition, the recommendations made at the three United Nations Conferences on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE), held in 1968, 1982 and 1999, have guided the Office in its mandate to help with the establishment and strengthening of the capacity of developing countries in space science, technology and their applications, as well as in the field of promoting the implementation of and adherence to international space law. Besides servicing the meetings of COPUOS and carrying out the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, the Office acts as the secretariat of the United Nations Inter-agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities, implements the work plan of the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) and acts as the secretariat for the International Committee on Global Navigations Satellite Systems (ICG). The paper provides an overview of current developments in the work of the Office.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-09.E3.2.2.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.