First fruits of the Long-Term Sustainability discussions in UN COPUOS: From guideline development to guideline implementation
- Paper number
IAC-19,E3,4,1,x49999
- Author
Prof. Peter Martinez, United States, Secure World Foundation
- Year
2019
- Abstract
In 2010, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) established the Working Group on the Long-Term Sustainability (LTS) of Outer Space Activities. The Working Group was tasked with producing a set of voluntary, non-binding guidelines for all space actors to help ensure the long-term sustainable use of outer space. The Working Group’s mandate ended in June 2018. During its mandate, the UN COPUOS member States agreed on twenty-one guidelines and a politically significant context-setting preambular text. These consensus guidelines represent a set of internationally agreed best practices for the transparent, responsible and safe conduct of space activities. States are now starting to implement these guidelines on a voluntary basis, even while they continue the LTS discussions under a dedicated agenda item of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of COPUOS. This paper will provide an overview of the 21 consensus guidelines, the experiences and challenges reported by States in their implementation of the guidelines, and a status update on the discussions in COPUOS on the way forward for the next phase of the Committee’s work on LTS.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-19,E3,4,1,x49999.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.