74/32. Prevention of an arms race in outer space

2020 ◽  
pp. 32-36
Keyword(s):  
Outer Space ◽  
Arms Race

scholarly journals Could an optional protocol be the way to stop the weaponization of outer space?

2021 ◽  
pp. 002070202110205
Author(s):  
Paul Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Great Power ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Optional Protocol ◽  
Outer Space Treaty ◽  
United Nations General Assembly

Since the early 1980s, the United Nations General Assembly and its affiliated forum, the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, has had the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space issue on its agenda. In the intervening years, the threat of weapons being introduced into the outer space realm has waxed and waned, but, in the main, a benign environment free from man-made threats has prevailed, allowing for great strides in the exploration and use of space. Recently, a renewal of great power rivalry including the development of offensive ‘counter-space’ capabilities has resurrected the spectre of armed conflict in space. With widespread political support for the non-weaponization of outer space, has the time come to give legal expression to this goal by means of an optional protocol to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty?

scholarly journals International Legal Regulation of Military Outer Space Activities

2012 ◽  
pp. 190-197
Author(s):  
A. I. Antonov
Keyword(s):  
Outer Space ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
International Level ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Space Activities

The publication is devoted to legal issues and prospects of banning weapons in outer space. The international legal basis currently existing in this field governs only certain aspects of use of outer space for military purposes, and it is obviously not enough to prevent the emergence of weapons in outer space. Attempts on the international level in recent years to put legal provisions in place that would establish barriers to an arms race in outer space so far have not been successful. The time is ripe to implement initiatives contributing to the institutionalization of verification activities on non-weaponization of outer space

Space Law and Weapons in Space

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sa'id Mosteshar
Keyword(s):  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Difficulty ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
Outer Space Treaty ◽  
Space Weapons ◽  
Definition Of

Although legal principles to govern space were discussed as early as the mid-1950s, they were not formalized until the Outer Space Treaty (OST) 1967 was adopted and came into force. The OST establishes a number of principles affecting the placement of weapons in outer space. In particular it provides that “the Moon and other celestial bodies shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes” and prohibits the testing of any types of weapons on such bodies. More generally the OST forbids the placement of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in outer space. In addition there are a number of disarmament treaties and agreements emanating from the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and the Conference on Disarmament that are relevant to weapons in space. Although the disarmament provisions and international humanitarian laws place some restrictions on the use or manner of use of space weapons, none prohibit space weaponization. The absence of such prohibition is not due to many attempts over the years to prevent an arms race in space. Notable among these are Prevention of an Arms Race in Space Draft Treaty and the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Space Draft Treaty. In considering the laws affecting space weapons a fundamental question that arises is what constitutes a weapon and does its placement in space breach the requirement that outer space be used exclusively for peaceful purposes? As an example, does a satellite used to control and direct an armed drone breach the peaceful use provision of the OST? There may be risks that without international norms governments and substate groups may acquire and use armed drones in ways that threaten regional stability, laws of war, and the role of domestic rule of law in decisions to use force. Given their orbital velocity, any object in space could be a weapon with capability to destroy a satellite or other space object. There is also a growing population of dual-use satellites with military as well as civilian applications. These present great difficulty in arriving at a workable definition of a space weapon in the formulation of a generally acceptable treaty. In addition, there are divergent views of the meaning of peaceful use. Some, in particular the United States, consider the meaning to be “nonaggressive” rather than “nonmilitary.”

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