UNOOSA, Luxembourg Launch New “Space Law for New Space Actors” Project
LUXEMBOURG (Luxembourg Space Agency PR) — Today, at the margins of the New Space Europe Conference, Ms. Paulette Lenert, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs and Ms. Simonetta di Pippo, Director of United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) signed a funding agreement to support UNOOSA’s new “Space Law for New Space Actors” project.
The “Space Law for New Space Actors” project will offer UN Member States tailored capacity building to facilitate their drafting of national space legislation and/or national space policies in line with international space law, promoting the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. Such capacity building will support in particular new and emerging space-faring nations to conduct space activities in a responsible and sustainable manner.
Furthermore, the project will increase adherence to the existing normative framework governing outer space activities. The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Outer Space Treaty), which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2017, serves as the foundation of international space law. This normative framework has been instrumental in supporting over half a century of exponential growth in space activities and the global space economy while ensuring a safe, secure and sustainable outer space activities.
Luxembourg’s Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Ms. Paulette Lenert, explained: “Space-based activities are becoming more important in our daily lives and research has shown that around 40% of the 169 targets behind the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) benefit from the use of space. This innovative and forward-looking project specifically aims to include developing and least developed countries, to give them a voice and a chance to participate in the discussions around space law and to become “new space actors” in the framework of international space law”.
The development of the space sector is a priority for the Government. Luxembourg is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), which was established by the General Assembly in 1959 to govern the exploration and use of space for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development. Moreover, the Grand Duchy has further increased its engagement and entered into dialogue and partnerships about space activities with a growing number of countries.
UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo commented: “With now more than 70 Member States, including some least developed countries, operating national space programmes, and many more beginning to explore the opportunities offered by space activities, it is necessary and incumbent upon the Office to provide the support required to increase adherence to the existing normative framework governing outer space activities. The partnership with the Government of Luxembourg is invaluable towards meeting that demand.”
9 responses to “UNOOSA, Luxembourg Launch New “Space Law for New Space Actors” Project”
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Gee, it is so very hard for Europeans to say space commerce ventures? Really, new space actors? Or is the idea of private commercial activities in space so alien to their way of life they are unable to acknowledge it is the future.
By actors, they mean member states, sovereign nations, signatories to the Outer Space Treaty.
Except they didn’t call it “new space states” or “emerging space states”, they referred to them as new space actors, which makes you wonder what the hidden agenda is. Sounds like 1966 (LOST) all over again.
That’s almost certainly the UNOOSA agenda. I think the Luxembourg agenda is rather different given that nation’s commitment to exploitation of space resources. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Yes, it seems that the Europeans are just not able to shake their colonial control mindset of frontier resources.
This doesn’t look something aimed at private space activities. A plethora of small launchers and cube sat spacecraft projects in the last decade or so has increased the number of countries which can claim to be involved in spaceflight, so this is an attempt to get more of them signed on to the Outer Space Treaty and issuing similar laws regulating space activities — the countries rather than private concerns, since the OST would have it that private or commercial organizations operating in space are always subordinate to national laws.
Which may or may not be a good idea. I’d be comfortable if Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos decided to start a Martian colony without getting permission from all 350 of the states in the UN; I might not be so happy if ISIS developed a space subsidiary which started knocking out comm satellites or capturing astronauts for ransom.
The United Nations consists of 193 member states, somewhat less than 350. Of those, 109 countries are parties to the Outer Space Treaty.
The Outer Space Treaty contains no requirement that the space activities of one state require the permission of other states.
Okay, the number’s off. Memory says some countries exist which are not in the UN, but I don’t have a guess as to how many. Any rate, I didn’t say there was a requirement that activities in space required permission from all states, a Musk created Martian colony was simply an example of something which might in principle have such approval — a limit case, in other words. As a batch of space pirates would constitute another limit case.
Anyhow, my point wasn’t that Luxembourg and UNOOSA were trying to get identical space law passed everywhere, but that they wanted similar laws passed by OST signing nations. California and Arizona don’t have exactly the same laws governing fraud, for example, but they have similar ones.
All undisputed independent states, with the exception of the Vatican City, are UN members. There are a handful of disputed states that are not members. Taiwan springs to mind. Transnistria, a breakaway state from Moldova. So a few countries with names beginning with the letter T.
There is an opportunity there. Somalia is a member of the UN, and they have signed the Outer Space Treaty but have not yet ratified it. Perhaps the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs can be of some help in getting that finalized.