Greetings Delegates,
We welcome you to this simulation of United Nations
Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at Jodhamal
Youth Conclave 2022. The first treaty to be widely accepted
among space actors, the Outer Space Treaty in 1967, was
pioneering the legal dimension of Space, by drawing from
the Antarctic Treaty, but also regulating utilization of a new
territory: space. This treaty became of the utmost importance
as the URSS and the USA fueled heavy tensions in the 60s,
weaponizing outer space. Whilst a total of 5 space treaties
were developed and more or less ratified by UN Member
States, none managed to reach consensus since 1984. It is
however particularly clear, as of today, with the emergence
of new industries like space tourism – or the global
privatization of space including mining – and the absence of international Law on the matters, that such regulations shall become a matter of the primary importance in the coming years.
The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) is the leading international forum for discussion among States regarding cooperation in space activities and for the progressive development and codification of international space law and norms for behavior.
As every fan of science fiction knows, the resources of the solar system appear virtually unlimited compared to those on Earth. There are whole other planets, dozens of moons, thousands of massive asteroids and millions of small ones that doubtless contain humungous quantities of materials that are scarce and very valuable (back on Earth).
Start with the fact that space belongs to no country, complicating traditional methods of resource allocation, property rights and trade. With limited demand for materials in space itself and the need for huge amounts of energy to return materials to Earth, creating a viable industry will turn on major advances in technology, finance and business models.
That said, there’s no grass growing under potential pioneers’ feet. Potential economic, scientific and even security benefits underlie an emerging geopolitical competition to pursue space mining.
This Committee would work towards to fully align our policies, create new regulations and put restrictions on the exploitation of Outer Space by the Superpowers. The main aim of this Council is to achieve maximum utilisation of space resources with its long term sustainability.
We look forward to an exciting and interesting committee, which should certainely be helped by the relevance of the agenda in today's time. Hopefully we, as memebers of the Executive Board, do also have a chance to gain from being a part of this committee.
Feel free to contact us if you have and queries or doubts. Good Luck!
Regards
Chairperson
UNCOPUOS
uncopuos.jyc@gmail.com