United Nations COPUOS/T.504

Committee on the Peaceful Unedited transcriptUses of Outer Space

504th MeetingWednesday, 11 June 2003, 3 p.m.Vienna

Chairman: Mr. González Aninat (Chile)

The meeting was called to order at 3.03 p.m.

General exchange of views (agenda item 5)

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Distinguished delegates, good afternoon. I see you all are very energetic. No naps this afternoon.

I would now like to give the floor to my friend, the distinguished Ambassador of Cuba, who would like to make a short statement. You have the floor Sir.

Mr. J. R. CABAÑAS RODRÍGUEZ (Cuba) (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you Mr. Chairman, and I would like to begin by apologizing by taking the floor twice on the same topic but we would like to say to the benefit of all here attending the Committee and the Bureaux that unfortunately, due to an error of editing in our original statement, we omitted an item which is very important for GRULAC and GRULAC had achieved a consensus on this point and thus I would like to reflect the idea before the Committee at this time.

And so I would like to ask the Secretariat that in reflecting the record of this meeting, that they take into account that GRULAC would like to see reflected in the minutes, the region’s desire to institutionalize the Space Conference of the Americas. This is an event that we have referred to many times and it is an important initiative and a vital one for the region.

Now, having made that clarification to our initial statement, I would like to thank the Chairman for giving me the floor one more time. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you to the distinguished Ambassador of Cuba for his clarification and the Secretariat has taken due note of that.

I now would like to continue with our list of speakers for this afternoon and it is a great pleasure to give the floor to the first speaker on the list and that is the distinguished representative of Brazil, Mr. Silva.

Mr. S. LEITE DA SILVA (Brazil) (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you Mr. Chairman. I will now read our statement.

(Continued in English) We are pleased to see you presiding over this session as well as COPUOS for an extended period of one year. The Committee will continue to benefit from your experience. I am sure that under your guidance this session will have very productive results.

We would like also to express our appreciation to Ambassador Walther Lichem of Austria for his endeavours during the intersessional informal consultations which resulted in the agreement on the composition of the Bureaux of the Committee and its subsidiary bodies. Ambassador Lichem’s intensive consultations with the chairs of the regional groups, with regional groups and with individual member countries, made possible a fair and positive agreement, which took in due consideration an equitable geographical rotation.

Mr. Chairman, my delegation fully endorses the statement made by the distinguished Ambassador of Cuba, José Ramón Cabaños, who spoke on behalf of

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In its resolution 50/27 of 6 December 1995, the General Assembly endorsed the recommendation of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space that, beginning with its thirty-ninth session, the Committee would be provided with unedited transcripts in lieu of verbatim records. This record contains the texts of speeches delivered in English and interpretations of speeches delivered in the other languages as transcribed from taped recordings. The transcripts have not been edited or revised.

Corrections should be submitted to original speeches only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and be sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned, within one week of the date of publication, to the Chief, Translation and Editorial Service, Room D0708, United Nations Office at Vienna, P.O. Box 500, A-1400, Vienna, Austria. Corrections will be issued in a consolidated corrigendum.

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the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries, GRULAC.

Let me recall that during the forty-second session of the Legal Subcommittee, Brazil presented a proposal, together with Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Mexico and Peru, for the inclusion in the agenda of that Subcommittee of an item for discussion on the possible elaboration of an international convention on remote sensing of the Earth from outer space. We firmly believe this proposal deserves further consideration by the Committee, as the principles on remote sensing activities, contained in resolution 41/65 of the United Nations General Assembly, are not any longer enough to deal with all emerging issues in this field, especially those resulting from the participation of the private sector in remote sensing activities.

Mr. Chairman, the Brazilian Government is pleased to note the important progress made by the Action Teams on the implementation of the recommendations of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, UNISPACE III. We hope that the Action Teams will pave the way for concrete results in the promotion of international cooperation on the peaceful uses of outer space, with special attention to the needs of developing countries.

We also acknowledge the measures taken by the Government of Italy regarding the deactivation of the satellite BEPPO-SAX, I do not know how to pronounce it exactly. The re-entrance of the Italian satellite in the atmosphere also made possible to further advance the studies on space debris in Brazil.

Mr. Chairman, Brazil continues to enhance its cooperation with other countries in the area of the peaceful uses of outer space. In this context, allow me to highlight a few important new achievements.

The launching of the second China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite, CBERS-2, from the base of Tayuan, in the Chinese province of Shanxi, is scheduled for 9 September 2003.

Brazil and China signed a Complementary Protocol to the Bilateral Agreement on 27 November 2002 for the continuity of joint development of Earth resources satellites. In this context, it is expected that the satellites CBERS-3 and CBERS-4 will be launched respectively in 2005 and 2008. The costs of construction will be shared equally between the two parties. A joint venture between Brazil and China is also being considered for the commercialization of

images of the two satellites, as well as for the construction of the reception stations and image processing. The Complementary Protocol also extended the existing cooperation on soil and space applications.

On 23 December 2002, the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Mozambique signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the installation of a system of environmental and hydrological monitoring in Mozambique with the utilization of Brazilian satellites.

And finally, the Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, CRECTEALC, signed an Affiliation Agreement with the United Nations, with the collaboration of the OOSA.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you to the distinguished representative of Brazil for his statement.

I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of China.

Mr. W. SU (China) (interpretation from Chinese): Mr. Chairman, first let me congratulate you on your continuation as Chairman of this session of the Committee. I would like to congratulate also the other members of the Bureaux. I am confident that your rich experience and abilities will enable this session to obtain its expected success. As it has always done in the past, the Chinese delegation will continue to actively support and participate in the various tasks before the Committee.

We are very pleased that, by consensus, we have solved the problem of the composition of the Bureaux and would like to thank the Ambassador of Austria for the important role that he has played during the intersessional efforts. We believe that the agreement reached this morning will promote the orderly and efficient way of working of the Committee, thus promoting the equitable participation of all regions in the peaceful use of outer space resources.

Since we have opportunity to speak on our views during the respective items of the agenda, I would like to make several general comments on the peaceful use of outer space.

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Mr. Chairman, enormous gains have been won by mankind in the exploration and use of outer space, promoting, thus, to a very great extent the economical, technical, social progress and development of all countries, an achievement acknowledged by all and worthy of praise.

On the other hand, we can clearly see that illuming a new challenge is facing mankind in the peaceful use of outer space, in particular when the militarized use of outer space is being continuously expanded and the risk of weaponization of outer space has become more and more marked each day. This will create an extremely great threat against the exploration development and peaceful use of outer space by man. It will also result in serious negative impacts on the process of controls of the arms race and disarmament as well as the impact on the environment for international security.

The Chinese Government has always believed that the ultimate goal for the exploration and use of outer space is to enable mankind to have a better space for survival and development. All outer space activities by all countries should contribute to advancing the friendly cooperation and social progress of peoples all over the world, of all the countries, and conducive to the keeping of international peace and security. China has consistently supported all efforts in the peaceful use of outer space and has always opposed the arms race in outer space.

Nonetheless, a mechanism in international law, capable of comprehensively and effectively preventing the militarization of outer space, is yet to be established. We hope the Committee can make greater efforts to prevent militarization of outer space and in particular to draw up an international agreement to prevent an arms race and weaponization of outer space. In this area, China is ready to exert tireless efforts with the international community to reach an early agreement on such a treaty for the sake of establishing a peaceful and tranquil environment in outer space.

Finally, I would like to present briefly the achievements made by China in the year 2002 in the area of aeronautics in space.

Last year, not only has China launched and retrieved successfully space vehicles Shen Zhou-3 and 4, laying thus a solid foundation for a manned space expedition. We have also successfully launched the fourth meteorological satellite, Feng Yun-1, to the polar orbit and the first marine satellite number-1 to a pre-set orbit. This has increased the global meteorological observation capability of China probe,

finding thus scientific grounds for the rational development of marine resources and marine pollution, monitoring of marine disasters, the management, as well as protection of the marine environment, fulfilling this, an important function for an integrated management of the Chinese coastal areas and planning of the regional economic development.

Last May, China has again successfully, and with accuracy, put on to a pre-set orbit, the third navigation and positioning satellite, BEIDOU-1, Polar Star 1, setting up thus a regional navigation positional system. The main purpose of this system is for the Chinese economic construction, providing for China high-efficiency and navigation positioning service in areas such as transport, meteorology, petroleum and marine resources, prevention of forest fires, disaster warning, communication, public security and other specialized sectors.

And, furthermore, China and Brazil and other countries have developed many activities in outer space. China attaches great importance to such international cooperation. We have always advocated that we should increase and intensify international cooperation in outer space on the basis of peaceful use, the quality and mutual benefits learning from one another and shared development. We hope that members of the Committee will exert efforts together to promote the peaceful use of outer space to ensure that the valuable outer space resources can be, indeed, properly used for the peaceful development of mankind. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): I would like to thank the distinguished representative of the Republic of China and my next speaker on the list is the distinguished Deputy Ambassador of Colombia, to whom I now give the floor.

Mr. C. A. ARÉVALO YEPES (Colombia) (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you very much Mr. Chairman. I would like to begin by expressing our personal pleasure and that of my country in seeing you preside over our work and we would further like to thank you for your very rich statement, not only in terms of the vision you articulated, but also in terms of the concrete proposals that you have put on the table for us to discuss.

Likewise, I would like to express Colombia’s support for the statement of GRULAC, as expressed by the distinguished Ambassador of Cuba. And further, Colombia’s endorsement of Dr. Sergio Camacho’s work. I would further like to indicate our appreciation

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for his statement this morning and congratulate him because in a very short period of time he has shown great leadership and efficiency.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to express Colombia’s attachment to the role, both scientifically and technically and legally, in the peaceful use of outer space in this Committee. It is a source of ongoing concern for Colombia to contribute both to the substantive issues and the working methodology of COPUOS in both Subcommittees. We further would like to congratulate the Subcommittees for their work and particularly their Chairs. We feel that COPUOS should increase its efforts to reflect in the results achieved, the changing nature of this activity and its importance in adapting to the new world and the reality of space activities. There has been a freeze of norms and standards and to the contrary we need a dynamic reflection on the challenges before us on an agenda which is increasingly multi-faceted and complex. All of this is naturally to seek a way to contribute specifically to the needs of developing countries in particular, but also we seek new dimensions, new innovative interconnections which characterize the saga of space.

Mr. Chairman, it is an honour for Colombia to be able to report to this plenary the signing last April of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Pro Tempore Secretariat, headed by Colombia at this time, of the Fourth Space Conference of the Americas and COPUOS. This instrument was signed here in Vienna by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Carolina Barco for Colombia and the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, Dr. Antonio Maria Costa. This Memorandum of Understanding is the first of such kind to be signed between the United Nations and an entire region, i.e., the Latin American continent, in this sphere of activity. And, thus, it is a very important support to have the United Nations support through OOSA for the joint efforts of an entire region which is attempting to achieve space technology and to make space activity something which contributes to the economic and social wellbeing. I would like to thank Dr. Sergio Camacho especially for his cooperation in this regard and also to you, Mr. Chairman, for your enthusiastic support of this initiative which, we are sure, will ultimately benefit the entire region.

In this regard, it is also important to underscore, that, taking into account the Cartagena statement of the Fourth Space Conference of the Americas, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee with pleasure accepted and noted the interest expressed in developing cooperation and coordination

mechanisms in the area of space activities in the region.

In this regard, and as Pro Tempore Secretariat, I would now like to report that currently consultations are under way and, of course, we would hope to see more concrete results emerge in this area which we consider so important as the Pro Tempore Secretariat.

Likewise, and in keeping with one of your proposals, Mr. Chairman, which was supported by Colombia and endorsed by GRULAC, we would like to express our firm support the need for seeking institutionalization of the Fourth Space Conference of the Americas that it have a fixed headquarters and so they have periodic meetings for the hemisphere in this area. We think that the time is ripe now for this subject. And the time has also come to begin to think that countries which are more technologically advanced in the region should host these meetings, in very informal meetings. We have heard very positive opinions expressed and these favour the possible candidature of Canada who heard it and was very open to it, if I may say so in a rather informal manner.

Mr. Chairman, in our enthusiasm to achieve a solution for the composition of the Bureaux, we achieved a consensus on the basis of equitable rotation, geographically, and this will give a new impetus for internal consultations within the Committee. On behalf of Colombia, I would like to express my appreciation and admiration to Ambassador Walther Lichem, Ambassador of Austria, for having achieved this agreement to which Colombia gives its full support. I would also like to express the Colombian Government’s appreciation to GRULAC for having put me forth as a nomination for First Vice-Chair of the Committee for 2004. We had a number of very fruitful discussions and at times we did encounter some differing opinions but always in a very constructive spirit, seeking consensus, as is the tradition in the United Nations.

Mr. Chairman, it is important to highlight a number of contributions to the idea of the geostationary orbit, contributions that were made in the last year. The idea, an item of geostationary orbit, is very important to Colombia and we fully support GRULAC’s statement in regard to this topic and, thus, we do not need to reiterate our statement with regard to this item.

With regard to telecommunications, we would like to see implementation of resolution 56/62 of the United Nations which enshrines in COPUOS the resolution adopted by the General Assembly with

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regard to the rational use of the geostationary orbit by which mechanisms are established for orbital respect in keeping with principles of equity and protection of the interest of developing nations.

We would also like to highlight contributions made by the Colombian delegation in the Subcommittee of technical and scientific matters with regard to evaluating the Band K model with regard to climatic statistics and the dateline which again puts forth a very equitable solution to the use of the geostationary orbit by equatorial countries. We would also like to underscore the importance of the agreement achieved by the Committee in its forty-fourth session which agreed to, and here I quote, “the geostationary orbit, which is characterized by its special nature, is part of outer space”. This formula, we are sure, will facilitate future examination of the geostationary orbit on behalf of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee.

Mr. Chairman, I would now like to specially refer to the item of the agenda of society and space. We believe that this is a vital subject and it would be timely to re-examine it in a more focused manner. It should be geared to space and education with a three-year working plan. And having said that, Mr. Chairman, this coincides with the scheduling for the end of the next year, the theme of which will be space and society.

It is important to point out that the final results of this work can be transmitted to UNESCO and the General Conference. It is increasingly obvious that space sciences and technology and its applications are part of everyday life of everyone and thus we need education and pedagogy which reflects this fact. Also the importance of space and education is reflected in remote areas of developing countries who also have a very unique situation in this regard. The Colombian delegation thus has some ideas on a possible working plan for this subject matter.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to particularly applaud the Office for its efforts and its good functioning, especially with regard to the Action Teams. We are pleased to note the results achieved and an increase of interest on behalf of States. We note an increase in the Esprit de corps which is very much in keeping with the UNISPACE III recommendations and the Committee’s focus. We see that momentum has been maintained and this is very laudable.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, with regard to UNIDROIT, I would like to indicate that this is part of international public law and international private space

law and is thus very important as a category of legal international instruments with certain obligations for States that have committed to international public law. This means that it is vital to assure compatibility between the obligations assumed by States and acceptance of space treaties. Whether it be through ratification or through customary law, it should also be recognized by the International Court of Justice itself.

Generally speaking, the number of ratifications of the five United Nations treaties on outer space is very low and this is particularly true for some of them. Thus, it is important to emphasize customary space law, particularly with regard to a broader and more universal acceptance of it. We believe that there are some parallels between the Law of the Sea and space law, beginning with the principle of the idea of a common heritage for mankind, the sea and the province of all mankind, space. Thus, mutatis mutandis are something that can be taken advantage of in terms of institutions and paths for the first and the second. For instance, the interest currently which exists in universal validation, legitimation through a legal instrument of the United Nations through certain investments or financial operations in space recalls the interest awakened in the last decade, in the decade of the 1980s rather, for investments in marine mining. In both cases, it was sought to provide a seal for this and legitimacy, through the United Nations, either through international space law in space.

Mr. Chairman, the view of this delegation is that it will be necessary not simply to have provisions in the preamble of the annex but also in the articles themselves which specifically establish provisions of space private law which are not contained in the basic principles of space law contained in the five space treaties, particularly the Treaty of 1967 and the Convention on International Responsibility for Damages. These principles have also been included in the customary universal space law.

It cannot be said a priori that there are no contradictions between the draft Protocol and the space public law nor that these will not be important in their specific application. That they do require, however, is applicable standards in order to resolve these conflicts. It is clear that the provisions of private law have not come into force but they should through international public law. Thus, the importance of international space law.

And with these words, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you.

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The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): I now thank the distinguished Deputy Ambassador of Colombia for his statement. The next speaker on my list is the distinguished representative of Turkey, to whom I now give the floor.

Mr. N. G. ERPUL (Turkey): Thank you Mr. Chairman. At the outset, I would like to congratulate you on your re-election to the chairmanship of the Committee and I would like to thank you for your statement outlining the developments in the work of the Committee that have been achieved since the previous session.

I would like to extend our special thanks to Dr. Walther Lichem for his efforts in conducting intersessional informal consultations and for finalizing the issue of the composition of the Bureaux of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its subsidiary bodies. We believe that the agreement based on a pattern of equitable geographical rotation provides us with a fair solution, taking into account the traditional practice of consensus in the Committee. We also find it useful to establish a group of incoming and outgoing officers to promote and ensure continuity of expertise and experience without prejudice to the role and functions of the Committee and its subsidiary bodies.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to give a brief overview to the Committee about the ongoing space-related activities in Turkey.

Turkey is at the final stage of setting up a space agency that would coordinate and control all civilian and military space activities. In this context, a draft bill which will provide the legal framework for the establishment of the space agency has been prepared. The agency is envisaged to function completely as a civilian establishment under the Prime Ministry.

National space policy, in line with the recent advances in space technology, is in the process of being finalized under the coordination of the Turkish Air Force with the participation of related national organizations and will be issued upon completion.

In parallel to ongoing work to set up a space agency, Turkey has speeded up her efforts to accede to the United Nations treaties on outer space and legislative requirements necessary for accession are continuing as well.

In order to raise public awareness on space activities, Turkey very recently hosted SPACEAN

2003 International Space Exhibition and Conference in Ankara from 6 to 8 May 2003. The activity which drew interest from both civilian and military authorities of many Eurasian countries served as an ideal platform for participating countries to exchange experiences on their space technology and its applications.

Mr. Chairman, the Information Technologies and Electronics Research Institute, BILTEN, a research institute of the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, is the leading institution carrying out space-related activities in Turkey. Space activities of BILTEN may be categorized under two separate headings, one, small satellite projects, and two, remote sensing and geographic information systems activities.

The main purpose of the small satellite project is to provide BILTEN with knowledge and expertise necessary for manufacturing small satellites. The satellite BILSAT-1 is expected to be operational in orbit in July 2003.

A satellite control ground station for the command and control of BILSAT-1 is under construction at BILTEN premises in Ankara. This ground station will be capable of receiving satellite signals in S-Band and UHF bands while transmitting tele-command signals in S-Band and VHF band.

BILTEN will be a partner of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation by means of BILSAT, together with Algeria, China, Nigeria, Thailand and the United Kingdom. In this way, BILSAT products may be used in DMC studies in the framework of UNISPACE III.

Remote sensing and GIS is another area of space-related activities in BILTEN. The Institute has Meteosat SDUS and NOAA HRPT receivers. The group has continued to receive and archive the satellite images since 1996 and these images are used for various remote sensing purposes.

In addition to these, a system for archiving, processing and presenting of satellite images that will eventually be used with the BILSAT satellite system is under development.

Mr. Chairman, spin-offs of space technology have yielded many substantial benefits. Spin-off technologies have resulted in the development and improvement of many products and processes that have a wide range of utilization especially in the health sector, food industry and in the management of natural disasters, in particular earthquakes.

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Given the complex nature of advanced technologies, we find it necessary to disseminate information on and promote understanding of the benefits of space science and technology and its applications at all levels of society.

Several universities have Astronomy and Space Science Departments in Turkey. Universities offer studies in the domain of near-ground space sciences in the field of design-structure-material as well as deep space research.

Last but not least, Mr. Chairman, a space camp was established in Izmir in 2001 in order to provide the young people with an understanding of space at an early age. This camp, one of the seven space camps in the world, has been functioning thanks to the contributions from many international organizations and training programmes are supported by modern simulators. Consequently, the camp plays an important role in promoting and popularizing interest for space and astronomy among the young generation.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): I would like to thank the distinguished representative of Turkey for his statement.

The next speaker on the list is the distinguished representative of Pakistan. The Ambassador of Pakistan, it is a great pleasure to give you the floor.

Mr. R. HUSSAIN (Pakistan): Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, allow me in the first place to convey my delegation’s pleasure and satisfaction, Mr. Chairman, chairing the current session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. With rapid developments in the field of space technology, the work of our Committee has become more complex and sensitive. My delegation believes that the Committee has conducted its work admirably in the past in facing quite serious challenges under your able and apt stewardship and we look forward to a meaningful progress during this session as well.

The Committee is also fortunate enough to be assisted in a significant manner by Dr. Karl Doetsch and Dr. Vladimir Kopal in their capacities as Chairmen of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee respectively. My delegation would like to convey its deep appreciation to these two distinguished personalities for the outstanding work they are doing in their respective Subcommittees.

Mr. Chairman, Pakistan’s national space agency, SUPARCO, made considerable headway in its projects for peaceful applications of space sciences and technology. As part of its long-term space science and technology development programme, SUPARCO has arranged for placement into the geostationary orbit a domestic communication satellite system, PAKSAT. As a result of the negotiations conducted with M/s Hughes Global Services, lately now incorporated in PANAMSAT, their satellite HGS-1 has been acquired on a five-year lease by the Government of Pakistan for positioning at 38 degrees East orbital location. The satellite, renamed as PAKSAT-1, was successfully relocated at the desired position on 20 December 2002 and made operational. The primary objective of the system is to develop local capability in the private and public sectors for development of the second generation satellite system and necessary ground infrastructure, in particular VSAT and Direct Satellite Receiving System, to fulfil national telecommunication requirements. PAKSAT-1 has 34 transponders for use in the various communication needs of the country including remote rural telephony services, distance learning programmes and other communications services.

SUPARCO has also plans to launch its Earth Observation Satellite System in the near future with a sun-synchronous, circular 600-800 kilometre orbit. The data obtained from the Earth Observation Satellite System would be integrated with GIS to provide images, value-added data, products and services to support the decision-makers and users community in their projects to assist in the development process of the country.

The national space agency continued to register good progress in its other R&D programmes relating to atmospheric sciences, natural resource management and environmental surveying, satellite meteorology and atmospheric pollution monitoring.

Mr. Chairman, the national space agency SUPARCO co-organized an International Workshop on Satellite Imaging Technology and Applications at Karachi, from 22 to 28 January 2003, to provide an appropriate forum for engineers, scientists, researchers, to present their views, discuss new trends and developments and exchange experience in the state-of-the-art technology on imaging sensors, optical systems, on-board image processing and storage, data acquisition and transmission to ground. There were 63 technical presentations, including nine country papers in the Workshop which was attended by over 70 scientists, engineers and decision-makers.

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Mr. Chairman, my delegation would like to make contributions during the deliberations on the other agenda items as and when they are taken up in the current session. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): I thank the distinguished representative of Pakistan for his statement. I would also like to take this opportunity to greet the Ambassador of Pakistan and my friend, distinguished Professor Shah from the same delegation.

I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Malaysia who was someone we have many good memories of as the former Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs, Madam Othman of Malaysia.

Ms. M. OTHMAN (Malaysia): Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, on behalf of the delegation of Malaysia, I would like to express our satisfaction at seeing you in the Chair and congratulate you and other members of the Bureaux of the Committee. We are confident that under your leadership of the Committee we will be able to conduct our business effectively and thus achieve our common objectives.

We would also like to thank Austria under the leadership of Ambassador Walther Lichem for the momentous efforts in resolving the issues related to the membership of the Bureaux. We trust that, at least until the year 2025, we can all peacefully and effectively address problems, challenges and issues facing the Committee.

Mr. Chairman, we reported at the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee meeting in February on the establishment of the National Space Agency of Malaysia in 2002. This Agency is now laying the roadmap for the national space programme, which includes the implementation of the satellite programme and the ratification of the United Nations space treaties and Conventions. We hope that in all of these various activities, we will be able to work closely with other member States who are interested in collaborating on achieving common goals, including technology transfer, scientific missions and training programmes.

We also proposed at the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee meeting to lead the Action Team for recommendation 9, Improve Knowledge-Sharing Through the Promotion of Universal Access to Space-Based Communication Services. We are extremely pleased that several member States have

now proposed names of experts for this Action Team. Although it was planned that the first meeting of the Action Team would take place in Thailand in May, this meeting is now postponed to September 2003.

We propose to hold an Action Team 9 meeting tomorrow, Thursday, at 1.00 p.m., to discuss the draft we have prepared on the Team’s objective, work plan and principle products. We have also prepared for discussion the draft of a statement of COPUOS that might be delivered at the World Summit on the Information Society to highlight the role of space technology in bridging the digital divide.

Our delegation looks forward to working with other member States in moving Action Team 9 and we hope to also participate in other Action Teams.

Mr. Chairman, Malaysia is planning to host, either at the end of 2003 or early 2004, the UNIDROIT Space Working Group Meeting to discuss the preliminary draft of the Space Protocol.

We will be making further interventions under the appropriate agenda items throughout this meeting.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): I thank the distinguished representative of Malaysia for her statement.

I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Mr. A. A. AMIDIAN (Islamic Republic of Iran): In the Name of God, Mr. Chairman, at the outset, my delegation would like to join other distinguished delegations in extending my happiness for seeing you again chairing the deliberations of the Committee. In the meantime, I would like to extend the interest of my delegation to continuously support the Office for Outer Space Affairs, COPUOS and its Subcommittees in achieving their goals.

My delegation also extends its deep condolence to Algeria for the damage in Algeria due to the earthquake.

Mr. Chairman, due to the evident and vital importance of space science and technology in the sustained development of the country, its application has begun in Iran since 1977 by the membership of the country in the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, Intelsat, and installation and use of the Standard A Station in Asad Abad in Hamedan

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Province. Development of different applications of space science and technology caused increasing attention by the authorities in the organizations and institutions. This led to the idea of establishing an organization to cover all the space-related activities and issues in the country. However, to realize this idea, we had to wait a quarter of a century.

Mr. Chairman, it is of great honour for me today to announce that after a challenging effort beginning from 1977, finally the Iranian Parliament approved the bill for the establishment of the Iranian Space Agency, ISA, early in April this year. ISA when established will cover and support all the activities in the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the peaceful applications of space science and technology. According to this bill, “Aiming to Apply Space Technology and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and Protecting National Interests and Sustained Exploitation of Space Science and Technology for Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technical Development of the Country”, the Supreme Space Council with the leadership of the President is being established.

The Council’s goals include:

One, policy-making for the application of space technologies aiming peaceful uses of outer space.

Two, policy-making in manufacturing, launching and use of the national and research satellites.

Three, approving the space-related programmes of State and private institutions and organizations.

Four, approving long- and short-term programmes of the country’s space sector.

Five, promoting the partnership of the private and cooperative sectors in efficient uses of space.

Six, identifying guidelines concerning the regional and international cooperation in space issues and clarifying the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the above-mentioned bodies.

To achieve the above-mentioned goals, the Iranian Space Agency affiliated to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is being established. The Director of ISA will be the Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology. The Secretariat of the Supreme Space Council will be based in the Iranian Space Agency and

the Director of ISA will act as the Secretary of the Supreme Space Council.

Mr. Chairman, my delegation would like to take this opportunity to invite all the interested members of COPUOS as well as organizations in national and international levels to cooperate with ISA in this respect. We believe that space as the common heritage of mankind equally should be explored and exploited peacefully for the benefit and welfare of all people throughout the world and for the sustainable development of all the nations.

Mr. Chairman, space technology emerges as a vital and important tool for the development in the national and international levels. It has led to advances in various fields of our activities, from management and control of natural disasters to navigation and from monitoring of the natural resources and the environment to tele-health and tele-education. In light of the UNISPACE III that identified all these possibilities and the potential of space science and technology, the nations have had the opportunity to work together for the implementation of its aims. The recommendations of UNISPACE III can help us to achieve objectives provided by the United Nations and support major initiatives being undertaken to promote human development. In this direction, the Islamic Republic of Iran participates in the Action Team activities as the member and particularly co-chairs the Action Team number 1 of the recommendations of UNISPACE III, “Develop a Comprehensive World-Wide Environmental Monitoring Strategy”, jointly with the Republic of Syria and the Russian Federation. The Team follows its aims and tasks orderly and will organize its fourth meeting on 13 June 2003 in the margins of the present COPUOS meeting. It is hoped that the Team will submit its draft report to the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of COPUOS in due time.

Mr. Chairman, in order to promote the space science and technology applications in the Islamic Republic of Iran, we believe that we should develop the international cooperation and transfer of knowledge and experiences through the joint regional and international activities such as implementation of research and scientific as well as technical projects and organizing the seminars and symposia. The Joint International Workshop of the Applications of Space Science and Technology for Disaster Management focusing on sustainable development and environment protection that will be organized by the United Nations, European Space Agency and the Iranian Remote Sensing Centre is such an effort that is planned for the year 2004. This Workshop will have the

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advantage of the leading and unique role of Iran in the region in relation to the various disasters. Iran is amongst the 10 countries with the highest number of natural disasters in the world and in Asia it is the fourth country after India, China and Bangladesh. My delegation believes that planning for organizing the above-mentioned international workshop will draw further and positive attention of the international community to the issue of natural and human-induced disasters and will persuade for joining forces of different countries and relevant international organizations to find convenient solutions for control and managing the disasters in the region through sharing of knowledge, experience and available potentials and capabilities.

Mr. Chairman, with the aim to develop the infrastructure for the application of space science and technology in the country, the Islamic Republic of Iran continues the work through providing the possibilities for in-depth education in space science and technology applications in the country. Presently a considerable number of courses on the applications of space science and technology have been scheduled in the education programme of different universities throughout the country in post-graduate level. These courses include satellite communications, remote sensing and geo-information systems, satellite meteorology, atmospheric and space studies and so on. While the efforts in this connection are being carried out continuously, the subject of establishing a specialized centre dedicated only to the in-depth and short- as well as medium-term education of space science and technology applications based on the approved international standards is being followed up in parallel.

My delegation supports the idea of establishing the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education of Iran as a node of the network of centres for space science and technology education in the Asia-Pacific region. For the beginning, we have planned two bi-weekly courses on satellite communications and remote sensing, GIS and SPS provisionally for late 2003. On the other hand, we emphasize on our readiness to join the Board of Governors of the Centre for Education of Space Science and Technology in the Asia-Pacific region based in India. We hope that the official arrangements for joining the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Centre will provide this opportunity as soon as possible. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you very much to the distinguished representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Portugal.

Mr. F. D. SANTOS (Portugal): Thank you Mr. Chairman. On behalf of the Portuguese delegation, I wish to express our satisfaction at seeing you as Chairman of this Committee. We are convinced that under your leadership we will be able to make progress on the important issues on our agenda and to achieve our common objectives. The Portuguese delegation also wishes to congratulate the Austrian Ambassador, Dr. Walther Lichem, for his successful work to establish a consensus for a new approach and a rotation scheme for the future composition of the Bureaux of the Committee and its subsidiary bodies. Let me assure you that the Portuguese delegation will fully support the work of this Committee.

Mr. Chairman, allow me now to review briefly some space activities in Portugal since the last meeting of COPUOS.

Portuguese space policy is strongly influenced by its membership of the European Union and by the accession to international organizations related to space, namely the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory.

Space activities in Portugal are now coordinated by the Office for International Relations in Science and Higher Education which supports the Ministry of Science and Higher Education from which it receives the budget to fund the mandatory activities of the European Space Agency, the Aurora and the EGNOS programmes. The other Agency optional programmes, Telecommunications and Galileo programme, are financed by organizations that depend on other Ministries and during the last year, there was a considerable activity of the Portuguese industry with proposals for new projects.

Portugal is also a member of EUMETSAT and participates in the development of the Land SAF, while in the coming years it may subscribe to ESA’s Earth Observation Programme and also it may apply to the Future Launchers Programme.

Recently a structure to support the Portuguese participation in space-related matters has been established. The Portuguese Space Office was created in the first trimester of 2003 under the coordination of the Office for International Relations in Science and Space Education. This Office is supported by a recently implemented Advisory Council for Space which is formed by the delegates to ESA, to COPUOS, as well as advisors linked to industry and research.

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We attach great importance to the fact that one of the top priorities of this Advisory Council is to prepare a National Strategy for Space that will guide the future participation of Portugal in the space field.

The programme regarding Portuguese participation in ESA and NASA that was launched by the Ministry for Science and Higher Education was reinforced aiming at the participation of research institutions and enterprises in projects of the ESA Scientific Programme and under the Protocol that was signed between Portugal and NASA.

Portugal is also participating in the EUSO collaboration, the Extreme Universe Space Observatory, and which is currently in the ES Phase A and is responsible for the Science Operation and Data Center report. This facility is to be installed in a European country member of the Collaboration and ensures the scientific mission control and planning, addressing the issues of data collection, monitoring and archiving.

I would also like to mention a few activities which have been going on in the last year. In the research centres of the University of Coimbra, which is involved in space-related research, the Astronomical Observatory has an activity in the field of solar physics and stellar evolution and the Instrumentation Centre has been collaborating in implementing a Gas Proportional Scintillation Counter for solar X-ray studies in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

There have been various space-related events which have been carried out during this period: a Workshop on the Investigation of the Solar System, organized by the University of Lisbon, a week dedicated to space matters by the Lisbon Technical University and a workshop organized by the Satellite Application Facility for Land Surface Analysis, which I mentioned before, Land SAF, organized in conjunction with EUMETSAT.

Finally, I would like to mention that the Portuguese delegation to COPUOS gives great importance to the implementation of the recommendations of the UNISPACE III Conference. We are participating actively in the process and we believe that its successful completion and application will be very useful and relevant. Furthermore, we believe that it will contribute significantly to the usefulness and capability of this Committee.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you to the distinguished representative of Portugal for his statement.

I now have the pleasure of giving the floor to the distinguished representative of Germany.

Mr. K.-U. MUELLER (Germany): Mr. Chairman, first of all, the German delegation would like to wish you the best of success in chairing the Committee during its forty-sixth session. We also would like to thank the Office for Outer Space Affairs for its tremendous work and its tremendous support of the work of the Committee. We have an ambitious work schedule in front of us and my delegation is looking forward to discussing these important issues during the next few days.

The German delegation joins other delegations in commending and thanking Ambassador Lichem for his outstanding work which we fully support.

As the general exchange of views offers an opportunity to inform delegations on recent developments in space affairs, I would like to highlight some important space-related developments which have taken place in Germany and Europe.

Germany is strongly committed to European and international cooperation with all space-faring nations, especially within the framework of ESA. Therefore, Germany highly appreciates the results of the ESA Ministerial Council two weeks ago.

Under the chairmanship of Germany, the delegations agreed on steps to put Ariane 5 back on track and to set up the development of future launchers within a reorganized launcher sector. Furthermore, it was decided to release funds for the International Space Station and to strengthen the relationship between ESA and the European Union. Last but not least, the ESA members put on track the development phase of Galileo as a European navigation satellite system.

Mr. Chairman, German space-related activities are highly integrated in the European projects. On 2 June, as you are all aware of, was the successful launch of the European Mars Express at Baikonur. Germany, among other countries, contributes important hardware to Mars Express, like the drill PLUTO, the Planetary Underground Tool, for detailed rock and soil analysis, the HRSC, High Resolution Stereo Colour Imager, which will take more

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accurate and detailed images of the surface and atmosphere of Mars in full colour, 3D and at high resolution, and the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer, PFS, which will determine the composition of the Martian atmosphere.

Mr. Chairman, this year’s Committee will focus on a number of important issues. The German delegation will make contributions to several agenda items and hence, I will not go into details at this point of time.

I would like, however, to express our high appreciation with the progress which was made at the last session of the Legal Subcommittee dealing with the important legal concept of the launching State.

Germany, together with some other delegations, has proposed a draft United Nations General Assembly resolution on this subject. We are confident that we will reach a positive outcome of this matter during our session.

The German delegation wishes this year’s session of COPUOS the best of success. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you very much to the distinguished representative of Germany.

Syria has the floor.

Mr. M. RUQIYAH (Syrian Arab Republic) (interpretation from Arabic): Mr. Chairman, the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic has the pleasure of expressing satisfaction at seeing you once again at the helm of this Committee in view of your great experience, your skills and your wisdom. We are optimistic, Mr. Chairman, and we are certain that all delegations represented here will show a spirit of cooperation and accomplish the results we have set out to accomplish.

We also thank Mr. Sergio Camacho, Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs, for the work accomplished over the past year.

Mr. Chairman, we would also like to express our condolences to the people of Algeria for having suffered so much in the recent earthquake in that country. We would like to follow up on this disaster and improve our cooperation in terms of using outer space for the management and mitigation of natural disasters.

Mr. Chairman, we in Syria have been diligent in applying the principles outlined by the United Nations for the peaceful uses of outer space and cooperation with regional and international organizations with a view to promoting sustainable development.

I would like to sum up here some of the most important activities undertaken by our Space Agency in that regard.

First, in the area of the exploitation of agricultural resources, our Agency uses space applications with a view to implementing a number of projects that have practical value for agricultural development. We are engaged in the remote observation of the Earth study of soil, forest management, crop management, water preservation projects and projects aimed at improving agricultural productivity.

Second, in the area of geology and hydrology, our Agency has made ample use of remote sensing data to promote tectonic and geological studies, an in-depth look at the geological and tectonic structure of our land, prospecting for underground resources and providing water in periods of drought. We work together with national institutions with a view to optimizing the position of dams, retaining rainfall, improving the management of water resources. We have worked with Austria, and we would like to thank that country for that, in a joint study of arid areas that has been very beneficial for us and other developing countries.

Third, in the area of protecting the environment, our Agency attaches great importance to the observation of ecosystems and we have carried a series of research projects relating to the environment, specifically in the west and the south of the country focusing on identifying sources of natural pollution of the environment and mitigating their effect. We have made great progress in the work against desertification on our own and in cooperation with various national and regional institutions that toil in that specific area. Particularly we have been focusing in the study of floods and seismological patterns.

Fourth, we have also used remote sensing applications in a number of other areas such as, for example, identifying hidden or concealed archaeological sites, mapping cartographic area to improve the use of natural resources.

In the area of GNSS, Global Navigation Satellite Systems, we have used a GPS satellite to

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identify optimal positions for wells and also archaeological sites. We have promoted to the best of our ability the principles of peaceful uses of outer space, taken part in a number of seminars, workshops, carried out national sensitization days, launched educational projects, introduced matters pertaining to the peaceful uses of outer space in the curricula of higher education establishments in particular, as they apply to the best management of natural resources and the improvement of living standards in the developing countries.

Our Agency has established close technical, scientific and cultural links with various regional and interregional institutions, various inter-Arab institutions which has led to our active participation in such international meetings as the various regional seminars organized by COPUOS and in the work of COPUOS itself. We have followed very closely the work of this Committee. To quote but one example, a workshop will be held in Damascus in July 2003 on the use of remote sensing and the training of experts in that domain. Our Agency is also taking an active part in most Working Groups established and Action Teams established to pursue the implementation of the various recommendations of UNISPACE III. Particularly we are focusing on the use of GNSS, Global Navigation Satellite Systems, mitigation of natural disasters and the Action Team on the first recommendation of UNISPACE III, an international integrated strategy for the protection of the environment.

Mr. Chairman, we would like to thank you and COPUOS for the efforts undertaken to promote the use of outer space applications for the benefit of developing nations. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): We are going to suspend this meeting for two minutes and 25 seconds.

The meeting was suspended at 4.20 p.m.

The meeting resumed at 4.22 p.m.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): As I was saying, after this brief interruption, I have the pleasure of giving the floor to a friend, a very high-level friend, the representative of Romania, who is a high-flying astronaut as far as our work is concerned. You have the floor Sir.

Mr. D. D. PRUNARIU (Romania): Thank you Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, let me, Ambassador Raimundo González, to express the satisfaction for seeing you again the main Chair of the Committee and to congratulate you for the excellent accomplishment of your difficult task during the last years. I would also take this opportunity to express my warm congratulations to Dr. Sergio Camacho as the new Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs for the outstanding management of the permanent activities of this institution, using his rich and fruitful experience within the Office.

Let me as well, Mr. Chairman, to express our thanks, congratulations and full support to Ambassador Walther Lichem for the difficult task he accomplished in negotiating and reaching a consensus with regard to the issue of the composition of the Bureaux of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its subsidiary bodies for the next terms.

Mr. Chairman and distinguished delegates, Romania is committed to further develop peaceful space development in a joint effort with the wider international space community. I would like to recall that, since the previous session of the Committee, the space activities in Romania continued to develop. Since July 2002, the Romanian Space Agency continued the coordination as a contracting authority of the National Research and Development Programme on Space and Aeronautics. Designed for 2001-2005 on a multi-year budget basis, the Programme includes as main directions: space and aerospace policy and infrastructure; space exploration; space application; aerospace technology and spin-off.

The duration of the project is between three and four (statement says five) and more than 45 public and private groups are involved as main contractors.

In the field of space and aerospace policy and infrastructure, I would like to mention the development of the Advanced Space and Aerospace Technology Park to be established in Bucharest as a consortium of several research, academic and industrial organizations. The inputs of the Park are scientific and academic competence, existent high-technology infrastructure and venture capital. The presumed outputs consist in high-level skilled professionals, high technology products derived from space research and financial results to support new projects.

During the last year, the Programme supported also the establishment of some Centres of Excellence in space science and applications in the fields of high-energy astrophysics, parallel computing

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and GRID, complex fluids in microgravity, precision agriculture and space applications in medicine and health monitoring. The concept of public-private partnership is promoted in the establishment of the Centres and in the project management.

As for space exploration, during 2002 the Romanian scientists took part in the development of several international space missions within the programmes of the European Space Agency, ESA, missions PLANCK, SPORt, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, astrobiology, microgravity, NASDA Japan, for life support in the ISS.

In the field of space applications, progress was performed in precise applications making use of Earth observation data, space communications and Global Navigation Satellite Systems. Among the ongoing projects, I would like to mention study for seismic risk assessment using space techniques, with a pilot study for the area of Bucharest; space applications for disaster management, applications for floods, deforestation and land degradation; radar interferometer applications for the Black Sea coast; tele-medicine pilot for diagnostic, clinical and educational applications.

At this point, Mr. Chairman, I would like to stress the successful organization in Romania, Poiana Brasov, in the period of 19 to 23 May, of the United Nations/Romania Regional Workshop on the Use of Space Technology for Disaster Management for Europe. The workshop was a joint initiative of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Romanian Space Agency, on behalf of the Government of Romania, and co-sponsored by the European Space Agency, the French Space Agency, CNES, and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. This event brought together practitioners, space agencies and those responsible for dealing with disaster management to present experiences and best practices on the space technology-based solutions for disaster management in Europe. This regional workshop is an element of capacity-building modules whose final objective is to incorporate the use of space technologies in a sustainable manner into operational disaster management programmes around the world.

With regard to the space applications in agriculture, an outstanding development represents the ADAM Project, the continuing cooperation between ROSA and the French Space Agency, CNES, in agro-modelling using space data for precision farming. I would like to point out, Mr. Chairman, that precision farming is utilizing the complete set of space

applications: optical and radar remote sensing imagery, navigation and positioning systems for data registration and agricultural machines navigation, satellite communications for meteorological data. The future challenge of the project is oriented directly to the farmers in order to optimize the agricultural process. The farmer’s input consists in data about the field’s coordinates, plant culture characteristics, permanent soil characteristics and agricultural practices. Based on Internet servers, crop models assimilate remote sensing data in order to give information in real time. The data delivered by the system consist in information during the phenological cycle, as water stress, mineral nutrition stress, wild plant infestation and pest attack. The project is also promoting the new concept of data mining, the multitude of optical and radar data are gathered on a server open for the scientific community. The project is utilizing also data from the NASA multi-spectral sensor Hyperion and from the French satellite SPOT-5.

In the field of aerospace technology, the projects are oriented to small payloads and vehicles as command, control and communications on-board system for light aerospace platforms; applications of optimal control methods for atmospheric and orbital flight; active flow control with synthetic jet actuators; light unmanned aircraft vehicle for monitoring and satellite remote sensing data complementarities.

I would like to emphasize, Mr. Chairman, the growing role of space science technology and applications in more and more sectors and aspects of human life. In particular, I would like to mention the space science and technology contribution to the process of building the global information society and the relevance of space activities for regional, continental and global security. Space activities generate valuable sources of data for the global information society. Space science, by means of astronomy, space experiments and deep space missions, and space applications generate a wide amount of precise data in a spectrum extending from the large-scale Universe to the daily phenomena of our planet. At the same time, space applications are providing the infrastructure for the information society, by means of satellite communications, Earth observation, positioning and navigation systems and others. Space systems, together with the permanent developing information technology, contribute to a qualitatively new concept of a global information and communication system. Internet, broadband mobile applications, GIS, GRID, distant learning, tele-medicine, virtual manufacturing, e-commerce, and e-governance become more and more essential elements of our permanent activity. Public authorities, private

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companies and citizens are sharing and building this sum of concepts and tools with visible results towards a better life on our planet for both development and stability.

Mr. Chairman, with reference to the sixth point of the agenda, ways and means of maintaining outer space for peaceful purposes, I would like to stress the role of wider international scientific and technical cooperation as a mechanism of stability.

Since the last session of the Committee, Romania continued to strengthen the cooperation in the frame of the European Space Agency towards a better integration of its space research and industry capabilities in the European programmes, as for space science, microgravity, Earth observation, telecommunications, navigation and positioning, space engineering as well. Romania is also contributing directly to the European Commission Sixth Framework Programme. For the first time it contains aeronautics and space as priority directions, in particular the European initiatives Galileo and Global Monitoring for Environment and Security. As a future member of the European Union and as an active promoter of space applications, Romania is interested in building infrastructure and applications with regard to those initiatives, for the benefit of public and private activities, having as a final result the improvement of the quality and security of the daily life of the citizens.

Agreements already concluded between the Romanian Space Agency and significant organizations, as NASA, the French Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency include projects directed to both science and direct applications of space technology as precision agriculture and environmental monitoring and tele-medicine.

Romania also gave concerned attention to support for space-related applications in developing countries. Experts from ROSA, in cooperation with the Food and Agricultural Organization, FAO, assisted Azerbaijan in developing their own Land Information System. This experience led to the conclusion in November 2002 of a governmental agreement of cooperation in utilization of the outer space for peaceful purposes between the Government of Romania and the Government of Azerbaijan. A new cooperation with FAO started last year for the utilization of satellite data in the more precise determination of the land use and land cover to support the agricultural reform in Romania.

Mr. Chairman, concerning the seventh item of the agenda, the opinion of my delegation is that we

should concentrate our efforts to contribute to an efficient follow-up of the UNISPACE III recommendations in taking into consideration the appropriate local and regional capabilities and needs. Romania has an outstanding interest in improving international and regional cooperation in space activities. In particular, we continue to give the full support to the initiative of the Network for Education and Research in Space Science and Technology for Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and we believe in an increasing contribution of this cooperation to the stability and the development of the region.

With regard to the celebration of the World Space Week, as it is stated also in the Report on World Space Week 2002, prepared by OOSA, in cooperation with the Spaceweek International Association, Romania is organizing specific celebrating activities each year since 1999. Space-related news on the media, radio shows, an Aeronautic and Space exhibition, a special World Space Week day in Bucharest and lectures for college students held by scientists and teachers were done with this special occasion between 4 and 10 October 2002.

Regarding agenda items 8 and 9, we would also like to express our satisfaction, Mr. Chairman, for the excellent work done by the Scientific and Technical and by the Legal Subcommittees during their last sessions and we have the pleasure to congratulate the Chairmen of the Working Groups and the Secretariat for their outstanding efforts in drafting reports to the Committee.

With reference to agenda item 10, in our opinion, Mr. Chairman, most of the modern industrial and societal products contain spin-off benefits of space technology and it is more and more a quite extensive task to nominate and evaluate them. However, it would be important to distinguish and promote the newer spin-offs of the research and development activity, having as objectives to increase the awareness on the importance of space activities among users and decision-makers and to obtain the necessary support for developing and maintaining the long-term space programmes.

Mr. Chairman, regarding space and society, agenda item 11, the Romanian delegation declares the full agreement with the need of action in promoting education in space science and engineering by both Government and private activities. As space is the widest multidisciplinary area of human activity, at the same time having one of the fastest rates of development, the need of professionals is rapidly

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growing. If education in space science and technology would not be considered as a primary goal of global space programmes, the lack of scientists and engineers could become a major impediment for future developments. In particular, for the space-faring and developing countries, if the best conditions of training and management of specialized human resources are not ensured at national and regional levels, the local capability, not only to develop, but also to benefit of space technology and applications, will decrease. The polarization of space professionals towards the few space-developed countries could have as a side effect the reduction of the global space market. It is the opinion of my delegation that the Committee should consider appropriate recommendations to the Member States. It could also be important to develop international space missions and projects able to allow the direct participation of countries with lower space technology potential as a mean for global capacity-building.

I would like here to mention the development in common by the Romanian Space Agency and the European Space Agency of a software program dedicated for remote sensing education, starting from the secondary school level. This professional high-level software, developed mainly by experts of ROSA, is intended to offer tools for online electronic education. Capabilities as supervised and unsupervised classification, registration of images, filtering are included. The Romanian Space Agency had already developed a curriculum for a one-year academic term and is offering this course since the fall of 2002 for the Network for Education and Research in Space Science and Technology for Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.

Mr. Chairman, my delegation will ask you for taking the floor during the specific items of the agenda. We might be able to be concerned as well.

Thank you Mr. Chairman and distinguished delegates for your attention.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you to the distinguished representative of Romania.

Before giving the floor to the next speaker on the list, I would like to announce to you that it is the Chair’s intention to suspend this meeting at 5.30 p.m. this afternoon so that all delegations will have time, suspend not the meeting says the interpreter, but the exchange of views at 5.30 p.m. so that all delegates will have time to comment on the statements that they

have heard. I would truly like to begin this practice also during the Subcommittees as well.

So having said that, I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Japan.

Mr. K. OTA (Japan): Thank you Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, on behalf of the Japanese delegation, I am honoured to address the forty-sixth session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, COPUOS. Please allow me to express our deepest gratitude and respect for the efforts of Ambassador González, Chairman of this Committee, Mr. Sergio Camacho, the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and their staff. I would also like to express our utmost appreciation to His Excellency Ambassador Walther Lichem of Austria for his dedicated contribution for the composition of the Bureaux of COPUOS.

Mr. Chairman, since the last session of this Committee, Japan has been involved in a number of important space-related activities and I would like to take this opportunity to present some examples.

I would like to begin with the successful launchings of our space launch vehicle, H-2A, by the National Space Development Agency of Japan, NASDA, last September, December and this March. With the capability to launch a four-ton payload into Geostationary Transfer Orbit, H-2A is Japan’s main launch vehicle. Since its first launch in August 2001, H-2A has been successfully launched five consecutive times.

I feel honoured to report that last month, in May, the Institute for Space and Astronautical Science, ISAS, also successfully launched the Engineering Experimental Satellite, Hayabusa, by using M-V launch vehicle number 5. Hayabusa, which stands for falcon in English, is schedule to land on an asteroid to collect sample materials from the surface and return back to Earth in 2007. In addition, I am pleased to announce that the Unmanned Space Experiment Recovery System, USERS we call it, which was launched by H-2A, successfully re-entered orbit at the end of May and was retrieved.

As for the Standard Type H-2A launch vehicle, NASDA has now been transferring its technology to private companies. This is aimed first at clarifying manufacturing responsibilities, second at enhancing manufacturing quality, and the third, at strengthening its international competitiveness. This technological transfer to the private sector is to be completed by the year 2005 and we believe that this

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transfer process will enhance the reliability of the H-2A launch vehicle, reduce its cost and we hope it will be something as a contribution in the end to mankind’s space development and utilization.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to touch upon the subject of our new space organization. In August 2001, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology decided to merge Japan’s three major space-related organizations into one core organization. The law to establish the new space organization, which unites the National Space Development Agency of Japan, NASDA, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, ISAS, and the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan, NAL, was passed last December and the organization will be formally founded on 1 October 2003. The official name of the organization in English is the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. Mr. Chairman and our colleagues, please remember our new name, JAXA.

JAXA will bring together space and aeronautic technologies amassed by the original three organizations, improve efficiency and further Japan’s space development. Currently, the Space Activities Commission, SAC, is drawing up Japan’s long-term strategy for space development and utilization which also define the role JAXA is going to play. Promoting international cooperation is surely one of the most important tasks for JAXA. We are confident that working in cooperation with other countries and organizations, the new agency JAXA will produce many positive achievements in the fields of space development and utilization.

Mr. Chairman, we have also been promoting international cooperation in various fields. For example, in the field of Earth observation, Japan is actively implementing activities in cooperation with other countries within the framework of the Committee for Earth Observation Satellites, CEOS, and is promoting the Integrated Global Observation Strategy, IGOS. Moreover, we launched our second Advanced Earth Observation Satellite, ADEOS-II, with sensors partially made in the United States and France. The satellite is named Midori-2, which means Green-2 in English.

In the field of space science, as I mentioned earlier, we successfully launched the Engineering Experimental Satellite last May.

And with regard to the utilization of the space environment, Japan will contribute to the ISS programme by developing its indispensable part, that is

the Japanese Experimental Module, JEM, nicknamed Kibo or in English, Hope. We also support the ISS program in close cooperation and coordination with participating parties.

As for COPUOS, Japan has been serving as the Chair of the Action Team for UNISPACE III, item number 17, to enhance capacity-building through the development of human and budgetary resources. We hope that working together with countries and organizations participating in COPUOS, we can contribute to the education and training of the next generation in the field of space development and utilization and space science. We also promote international cooperation for the peaceful uses of outer space through the Scientific and Technical and Legal Subcommittee activities.

Mr. Chairman, space is the common frontier for mankind and as such offers infinite possibilities. We should look beyond our national borders to help bring the benefits derived from space activities, not only to the people who live in the countries engaged in space activities, but all mankind. Japan is ready to work for the prosperity of mankind and evolution of civilizations by engaging ourselves in international cooperation and in space activities, such as those promoted by the United Nations and this Committee, so that space activities shall be beneficial to all mankind.

Thank you very much for your attention.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you to the distinguished representative of Japan.

The next speaker on my list is the distinguished representative of the United States, to whom I now give the floor.

Mr. K. HODGKINS (United States of America): Thank you Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, let me begin by joining previous speakers in expressing deep appreciation for your willingness to once again preside over this Committee. Under your able leadership, our last session was a real success and we have every reason to believe that the same will be true this year. I would also like to congratulate Dr. Sergio Camacho on his appointment as the new Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs. Dr. Camacho’s work as the Expert on Space Applications was superb and we have every reason to believe that his tenure as Director will be equally successful. The staff of the Office should also be congratulated for another year of

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outstanding support to the Committee and its Subcommittees.

My delegation would also like to extend a warm welcome to Algeria as a new member of the Committee.

Mr. Chairman, my delegation shares the views of others concerning the exceptional work of Ambassador Lichem of Austria in reaching a consensus concerning the Bureaux of the Committee and its Subcommittees. This was a highly complex and politically sensitive matter but Ambassador Lichem proved to be equal to the task. The Committee owes him a huge debt of gratitude for resolving this issue in a positive way.

Mr. Chairman, the United States, and indeed the world, suffered a great tragedy earlier this year with the loss of the United States Space Shuttle Columbia. The loss of the Columbia is a stark reminder of the difficulties and dangers that remain in humankind’s quest to explore the world beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

On behalf of the United States, I would like to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of sympathy from nations and individuals all over the world. We greatly appreciate the expressions of support, as well as condolences, conveyed to our Government and the families of the crew of Columbia.

The International Space Station remains a high priority for the United States and the international community. The crew of Yuri Malenchenko and Ed Lu is continuing to operate the Space Station and conduct limited on-board science experiments. Russian Progress vehicles are providing logistics support to the ISS while the Space Shuttle is grounded. NASA is working closely with its Space Station partners on next steps to continue to maintain human presence on the ISS until the Space Shuttle returns to flight.

In spite of this recent tragedy involving the Columbia Space Shuttle, we nonetheless had a number of major accomplishments in the United States space programme since COPUOS last met.

During 2002, the International Space Station hosted three Expedition crews and housed 65 completed or ongoing scientific investigations as it entered its third year of continued human occupancy.

The groundbreaking NASA-sponsored X-Ray astronomy research of Riccardo Giacconi was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Physics and the

newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope continued to revolutionize the field of astronomy.

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft discovered evidence of potentially large quantities of water-ice under the surface of the Red Planet and using the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA scientists, for the first time, determined the composition of the atmosphere of an extra-solar planet.

Two new launch vehicles, Boeing’s Delta IV and Lockheed Martin’s Atlas V, made successful inaugural launches. Developed with the support from both United States industry and the United States Air Force, these launch vehicles represent a new generation of medium- and heavy-lift launchers for both commercial and government payloads.

Towards the end of 2002, after more than 30 years in service, the NASA Pioneer 10 spacecraft lost contact with Earth. Launched on 2 March 1972, Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to travel through the Asteroid Belt and the first to make direct observations and obtain close-up images of Jupiter. Pioneer 20 is now over 7.6 billion miles away.

An important endeavour in 2003 is NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers Missions, or MER. As part of this ambitious programme, NASA plans to launch two Mars Exploration Rovers to Mars in 2003. The first Rover was launched yesterday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a Delta II launch vehicle. The second Rover will follow early this summer, also on a Delta II from Cape Canaveral. These two missions will deliver their Rovers to specific sites on Mars to determine the history of the climate and water on that planet.

A more complete report on United States activities during the year 2001 is available in the document “Aeronautics and Space Report of the President” which has been provided to the Secretariat for distribution to delegations during this session.

The year 2003 is also being celebrated as the Centennial of Flight, with special events throughout the United States and other countries during the year. On 17 December 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright completed the world’s first successful powered, heavier-than-air flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, for a 12-second, 120-foot journey. A new industry was born and a new way of life followed closely behind. The Centennial of Flight celebration commemorates this achievement and 100 years of aviation history. In addition to a year-long series of events across the country, we expect to highlight and

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link key space activities to this celebration of aviation. A brochure describing the celebration and associated events is being distributed to delegations during this session.

Mr. Chairman, my delegation is pleased to announce that the United States will be hosting the Earth Observation Summit on 31 July 2003, in Washington, D.C. The focus of the Summit is to obtain a high-level international political commitment to building a comprehensive, integrated and sustained Earth observing system in order to better understand and address global environment and economic concerns. As a result of the Summit, an Ad Hoc Working Group will be established to develop a 10-year implementation plan that will bring together the combined global observations of terrestrial, ocean, atmospheric and ecological phenomena for multiple applications and sound decision-making for sustainable development. Disaster management is one application specifically undertaken by this body which will greatly benefit from an integrated approach to observations from space.

Once again, our agenda for this session of COPUOS holds the promise of producing useful results on a number of important topics. We are particularly encouraged by the substantial progress that has been made in the work of the UNISPACE III Action Teams and look forward to the Committee’s further consideration of what can be done to implement the recommendations of UNISPACE III. We anticipate that there will be an extremely interesting exchange of views on the spin-off benefits of space and on strengthening the role of COPUOS in promoting international cooperation so as to ensure that outer space is maintained for peaceful purposes.

My delegation is pleased to note that the Committee will be considering again this year an item dealing with space and society. This item was adopted in 2001 on the basis of a proposal by my delegation and Austria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Nigeria, Peru and Turkey. This will be an excellent opportunity to delegations to share information on national and international efforts to demonstrate to the general public how space activities could enrich their daily lives.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, greater recognition by COPUOS of the involvement of the private sector we believe is essential. This was a priority reflected in the organization of UNISPACE III and was key to that Conference’s overall success. I wish to note that we have on our own delegation a representative from the Space Foundation who will make a special presentation

concerning space and society next week, and a representative from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics who will present a paper on the role of professional associations in promoting the use of space technologies.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you to the distinguished representative of the United States.

I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Hungary.

Mr. E. BOTH (Hungary): Thank you Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, first of all, I would like to congratulate you on your re-election for the chairmanship of this Committee. My delegation also expresses its best wishes to Dr. Sergio Camacho, the newly appointed Director of OOSA.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, let me now briefly inform the Committee on two important features of our country’s space programme.

First of all, I am pleased to inform this Committee about a new milestone in our international cooperation. I would like to announce that after a thorough series of negotiations, the representatives of the European Space Agency and the Hungarian Government in April signed an agreement on our country’s accessing to ESA’s programme for European Cooperating States. We are proud that Hungary became the first European Cooperating State of the European Space Agency. As my delegation several times emphasized, the international cooperation is of vital importance for our country. As a follow-up of a workshop held in Budapest four years ago, the European Space Agency has elaborated some new ideas, the so-called ECS programme, for promoting the way of some candidate countries towards full membership. We highly appreciate all efforts by ESA to support our approach towards the Agency. We are convinced that this accession is a milestone for our country since the ESA/ECS programme will offer new opportunities for our space community, including our industry.

In our space programme, the space applications have the highest priority. One of the most rapidly developing space applications seems to be the use of the global navigation systems. Being aware of this, we welcomed the idea of the series of regional conferences on satellite navigation. The International Meeting of Experts, held last November in Vienna, was

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a proper closing of the series of regional conferences, where the participants succeeded to reach a world-wide consensus in formulating some important recommendations and other arguments. As one of the participants, I express my delegation’s thanks to the sponsors of the series of conferences, as well as to the organizers, within and outside OOSA. My delegation hopes that some of the recommendations of the GNSS conferences will find their ways through the relevant Action Team to this Committee and to the General Assembly and in the form of United Nations recommendations back to the governments. This process could effectively promote in different countries the quick spread of GNSS applications. Anyway, it is important to emphasize that the series of GNSS conferences has a very positive follow-up in our country, promoting the launch of a national GNSS application programme.

Thank you for your attention. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): I apologize. We had a little problem here at the Bureaux but I have followed your statement attentively and I would like to once again thank the distinguished representative of Hungary who is a long-standing and important member of this Committee.

And I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Ukraine.

Mr. V. CHERNYSH (Ukraine) (interpretation from Russian): Thank you Mr. Chairman. The Ukrainian delegation would like to join the words of gratitude and high appraisal of the work of the newly re-elected Bureaux of COPUOS as well as the leadership of the Office for Outer Space Affairs. We would like to join others who have wished every success to this important body in addressing the matters on the agenda. Most particularly, we would like to thank Ambassador Lichem, who has made it possible for us to accomplish very specific and positive results in terms of developing and agreeing upon the mechanisms for making up the Bureaux and its auxiliary bodies.

Mr. Chairman, Ukraine, as a member of the United Nations and a leading space-faring State, has always welcomed the efforts of the United Nations and of this Committee specifically towards promoting a global dialogue on the most important issues on the agenda of countries involved in outer space activities, and most importantly, broadening and intensifying international cooperation in the area of space science and technology and its applications. In this context, let

me briefly inform the Committee of specific steps undertaken by Ukraine towards those objectives.

In the context of cooperating with international organizations, the executive bodies of the Ukrainian Government have approved amendments to the founding documents of INMARSAT, the International Mobile Satellite Organization and INTERSPUTNIK, the International Communications Satellite Organization. And these amendments have made our cooperation far more effective.

The National Space Agency of Ukraine shares the concern of the international community in view of the danger of space debris. We believe the issue of cleaning up near-Earth space from space debris is topical and urgent. The National Space Agency of Ukraine is aware that this is a problem that is global in nature. In February 2000, we joined the Inter-Agency Coordination Committee on Space Debris, IADC. The various launch vehicles being used or developed in the Ukraine have built-in measures to prevent contamination of near-Earth space by space debris or to mitigate it to the extent possible. At present, under the leadership of the National Space Agency of Ukraine, work is being done to amend and expand space activity rules and principles with a particular emphasis on preventing the contamination of outer space in accordance with the guidelines for mitigating space debris recently approved by IADC, the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee.

On 14 April of this year, Ukraine signed a second agreement with the European Meteorological Satellite Organization. It was the National Space Agency of Ukraine that signed that agreement and it has to do with the use of high-resolution data provided by METEOSAT satellites. Since July 2000, interested companies and organizations in Ukraine have made active use of high-resolution data obtained from these orbital satellites to tackle a number of tasks facing the national economy.

Within the framework of bilateral cooperation, throughout the years 2002-2003, and in the context of cooperation agreements, regular meetings, joint workshops, seminars, conferences and roundtable discussions, Ukraine has hosted official delegations, representatives of the various diplomatic missions accredited in Ukraine, aerospace companies and space agencies from the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Argentina, Brazil, Viet Nam, China, Egypt, Israel, the Republic of Korea, Turkey, Japan.

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Cooperation with the Russian Federation in 2002-2003 has focused as a priority area on the experimental exploitation of the joint Ukrainian-Russian ocean project. This is an important ____________ (not clear) elements of the Sich system for remote observation of the Earth from space-based satellites providing high-resolution data which can be used to address a number of scientific research and applied tasks.

Furthermore, in February 2002, the space agencies of the two countries, Ukraine and the Russian Federation, adopted a long-term programme for joint scientific research and technological experiments on the basis of the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

Bilateral contacts with the People’s Republic of China have focused primarily on coordinating a programme for cooperation between the PRC and Ukraine in the area of the peaceful uses of outer space.

In 2002, important agreements were signed and international instruments approved on cooperation in outer space with Brazil, Turkey, Israel and Argentina. All of these international instruments broaden the legal framework for Ukraine’s cooperation with the above listed countries and facilitate the implementation of a number of major commercial projects in outer space.

I would like to note in particular the agreement with Brazil. It is an inter-governmental agreement on the protection of technologies and a Memorandum on the joint use of the Alcantara space launch facility. These international instruments and agreements, along with the various drafts prepared by the Ukrainian Space Agency for follow-up agreements and related documents, combine to set up a legal framework for setting up joint ventures and the start of actual work on the use of the Alcantara space launch facility for launching the Cyclone-4M launch vehicle, which is highly promising.

In November 2002, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a third programme for 2003-2007 which includes a number of fundamentally new provisions related to a new stage in the development of human society, and here I am referring to … (not clear) … of sustainable development, and also relating to the transformation of the Ukrainian economy and the vital need for the further commercialization of outer space activities and for creating an adequate potential for the national space industry. This new programme defines strategic guidelines for Ukraine’s space activities and the ways of practically implementing those guidelines.

The programme has been drafted on the basis of the long-term priorities facing Ukraine and its development, taking into account world-wide trends in the use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, let me reaffirm Ukraine’s readiness to make a contribution to the joint effort of COPUOS member States in tackling topical tasks confronting us today. This work is designed to strengthen international cooperation in the outer space area as an important factor for promoting global stability and security. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you very much for your statement distinguished representative of Ukraine.

The representative of Ecuador has the floor.

Mr. F. CHÁVEZ (Ecuador) (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you Mr. Chairman. First of all, let me tell you that it is a pleasure to see you again at the head of this Committee and I congratulate you on the extension of your mandate. Your experience guarantees the success of this meeting and of its subsidiary bodies. I would also like to congratulate the other members of the Bureaux for the extension of their function until the next session of the Committee. In keeping with the agreement achieved, thanks to the efforts of the Government of Austria in the person of Ambassador Walther Lichem. Dr. Sergio Camacho is participating for the first time in this session of the Committee as Director of the Office for Outer Space Affairs and thus we welcome him and we congratulate him on his work thus far along with his colleagues.

The Ambassador of Cuba has communicated GRULAC’s position with regard to other items on our agenda and we would like, once again, join in the statement made by the Chair of our regional group.

Mr. Chairman, the agenda of our work reflects the rich diversity of the work of COPUOS and the positive balance of management of the Subcommittees, that is both the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee, which are so skilfully chaired by Mr. Karl Doetsch of Canada and Mr. Vladimir Kopal of the Czech Republic respectively.

In the context of the sphere of action of COPUOS, my delegation is pleased to note the headway made with a view to application of the recommendations of UNISPACE III which promote international cooperation and human development. It is also encouraging to note the evolution of a number of subjects of discussion, such as satellite remote

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sensing, which is, no doubt, very important for sustainable development and the establishment of a comprehensive space system which is of special interest to countries such as mine for natural disaster management and for managing phenomena which are cyclical, such as El Niño, which affects my country and many others which are located in areas which are also in high-risk seismic zones.

The evolution of other subjects has been slower but nonetheless significant. Thus is the case of the geostationary orbit which we shall recall here then the Declaration adopted by the Committee in its forty-fourth session and the Agreement achieved in the thirty-ninth session of the Legal Subcommittee. Both the Declaration and the Agreement are encouraging steps towards seeking new areas of consensus matching the characteristics sui generis of the geostationary orbit and which guarantee to all States equitable access to this natural resource which is limited and which to take into special account the needs of developing nations and the geographic situation of determined countries.

In order to accomplish these goals, the United Nations Space Technology Applications Programme constitutes a very worthwhile tool. Ecuador appreciates the high degree of participation of its candidates in the various courses and hopes to extend the benefits of the Programme to other activities which contribute to the development of the country.

In its fortieth session, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee reiterated its concern for the lack of financial resources in order to implement the United Nations Technology Applications Programme and thus my country makes a special appeal to the donor community to either make voluntary contributions or to increase them to strengthen this Programme.

We are pleased that the Programme can support the application of the Action Plan of the Fourth Space Conference of the Americas, in keeping with the Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the Pro Tempore Secretariat of the Fourth Conference of the Americas, held by Colombia, and very dynamically so, I might add, and the Office for Outer Space Affairs.

The signing of this instrument is an event which we applaud, much like the signing in these coming days of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Chilean Space Agency’s International Advisory Board and the Office for Outer Space Affairs.

My delegation would also like to highlight the launching next of the Simon Bolivar satellite which constitutes a joint effort of Member States of the Andean community and Brazil. This project has been underway for some time and its crystallization is a good example of regional cooperation for the use of space science and technology.

With regard to UNIDROIT, and with regard to the real international guarantees of mobile equipment assets and the preliminary draft Protocol on specific issues related to space assets, my delegation believes, as indicated by GRULAC, that the standards of international public law contained in the treaties and principles of the United Nations on outer space should prevail over the standards of private law contained in the Protocol.

With regard to designating an oversight authority, in keeping with the preliminary draft Protocol, we believe that it is important to very carefully evaluate this option and look at all the ramifications thereof.

Finally, my delegation would like to reiterate its endorsement of the initiative of reviewing the principles of remote sensing in the context of the Legal Subcommittee with a view to adapting the standards to technological progress in this area and recommendations of UNISPACE III.

We further support the proposal contained in the declaration of GRULAC on item 11, space and society, with a view to maintaining it on the agenda with a special focus towards international cooperation for the use of space technology for educational purposes. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you to the distinguished representative of Ecuador for his declaration.

This will be the last speaker on the list to speak on item 5, general exchange of views. And I will now give the floor to the International Society of Photogrammetry as an observer. We thus give the floor to the representative of this Organization. You have the floor Sir.

Mr. J. C. TRINDER (International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing): Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the opportunity for the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, that is ISPRS, to participate in this forty-sixth session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of

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Outer Space. I thank especially the newly appointed Office for Outer Space Affairs Director, Dr. Camacho, and his staff of OOSA for their dedication to the activities of COPUOS. The ISPRS is very appreciative of the dedication and hard work performed by all OOSA staff over the past year.

Mr. Chairman, the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing is a non-governmental international organization devoted to the development of international cooperation for the advancement of the photogrammetric and remote sensing and spatial information sciences. The ISPRS membership continues to increase and now comprises 122 national organizations and professional societies representing 112 nations and regions covering the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Oceania, plus 49 sustaining members which represent corporations and research institutions. Established in 1910, ISPRS is the oldest umbrella international organization in its field which may be summarized as addressing information from imagery.

At this session I will report separately on the benefits to remote sensing and access to commercial remote sensing data during agenda item 7 on the implementation of recommendations of UNISPACE III. These are important issues related to the implementation of these recommendations.

Mr. Chairman, the year 2004 is the year of the Congress of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing to be held in Istanbul, Turkey from 12 to 23 July 2004. Members of COPUOS are invited to visit the ISPRS website which is www.isprs.org for more details of this Congress, submission of abstracts and registration, etc. This is a landmark event for the fields of photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences. And the Second Announcement document is available to delegates here at this session.

Mr. Chairman and distinguished delegates, I appreciate the opportunity to share some views of ISPRS and to offer ISPRS activities as a contribution to the successful achievements of COPUOS and I will speak further on the issues identified earlier when the appropriate time arises.

Thank you for your attention.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you very much distinguished representative of this important international organization.

At this point we are going to suspend speeches on agenda item 5, general exchange of views, because, as I mentioned earlier, I would like to envisage in every session some time for a true exchange of comments after statements have been made. And I think this is a good practice to institute. Statements and speeches are one thing but after they have been delivered, I think it would be a good thing to re-establish a true dialogue and this would then be reciprocally nourishing to countries, both for developed countries on the one side and developing on the other, and all countries amongst themselves.

So I am wondering if, in light of these comments, given that this is really an exchange of views, not general debate, in light of what has been said today, if any delegation would like to take the floor at this time, otherwise the Chair does have some ideas to put on the table but I would like to open the floor first.

I would ask you not to be shy because truly we would have great pleasure in hearing what you have to say.

With great satisfaction, I welcome the distinguished representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran who always makes very constructive remarks. You have the floor.

Mr. M. REZVANIAN RAHAGHI (Islamic Republic of Iran): Thank you very much Mr. Chairman. Since this morning, particularly my delegation has been in a position to learn very much from other colleagues in the room and we hope it could be continued during the remaining days and particularly during the next week and certainly this meeting is a good opportunity for all of us to learn from each other through information sharing and exchange of views.

But there is one point. It was somehow our concern when we were discussing the final report of the meeting in the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee in February and it was the issue of security. Certainly the main purpose of discussion and the main objective is the peaceful uses of outer space and I am sure that nobody in this room has any doubt about this issue. At the end of the line, we hope to achieve sustainable development and welfare for any society and for the whole international community. But when we talk about security and security aspects of space activities and remote sensing, it reminds us of some negative aspects of space activities which could endanger the whole process of negotiations, particularly in COPUOS which, as I said, the most

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important objective is peaceful exploration and use of outer space to achieve sustainable development, particularly for developing countries. That is why my delegation would like to draw the attention of all colleagues in the room that when we want to refer to this issue, answered out a broad term, we use some narrow terms and more restrictive, to make it clear that what we have in our mind. Does it mean food security or we are looking for environment protection, particularly with respect to the three pillars of sustainable development, which is economic growth, social development and environmental protection.

This is the main issue that I wanted just to raise with you and other colleagues in the room. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): I thank the distinguished representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I think he has made an important point. The Chair would simply like to make reference to one issue that I think is central here and that is the UNDP Report on Human Security, focused on the individual to the end that an individual should be free of need and fear. And so in that context, in the UNDP Report of 2001, which talks about the synergy. I am asking because there are linguistic experts here. For Spanish, I would say synergy in Spanish and English as well, that way we have no problems. A synergy between the link that should exist between the most appropriate techniques to ensure the safety of people and that is sort of the context in which this concept has been developing, by looking at different international instruments to promote that. But it is you who should be discussing this and I am very pleased to see that your delegation brought that to the table as one of the subjects that has been raised.

Now, within the context of the Chair’s comments, I would add the idea of sustainable human security. We need a synergy, not just for present generations, but also for future generations.

I thank you for your contribution and I would now like to ask if any other delegation wishes to take the floor at this time to make comments on the general exchange of views which has taken place to date.

As I see none, I would now like to turn to some matters that I think are quite important with regard, for example, to what the distinguished Ambassador of Colombia said on the Fourth Space Conference of the Americas. I was quite pleased to participate in that beautiful city, Cartagena de Indias. The temperature is just a little bit high but anyway it is still very worthwhile to go there. It was a very

significant conference because significant decisions were taken.

One of these decisions was with regard to regional cooperation and the mechanism for that. And the other was referred to in the GRULAC statement made by the distinguished Ambassador of Cuba with regard to the need to institutionalize the Space Conference of the Americas. And if I recall correctly, the Ambassador of Colombia also said that there have been informal consultations with the delegation of Canada who might be willing to take on the Fifth Space Conference of the Americas. I do not know if the Canadian delegation wishes to react at this time or remain silent, like the Civil Code of Chile indicates silence as tacit acceptance.

Now the Head of my delegation is an expert jurist, that is for my delegation, I do not know the other delegations, but I understand that that how it works, and I give the floor to the distinguished Ambassador of Colombia and then Canada.

Mr. C. A. ARÉVALO YEPES (Colombia) (interpretation from Spanish): Indeed, I think the whole methodology that you have promoted to at the end of our meeting discuss the exchange of views is a very healthy exercise and it is important to look at issues which might be more relevant if we do this exercise of a true exchange of views. And with regard to the specific issue you just raised, indeed, this morning I did mention the need for developing a mechanism to institutionalize the Space Conferences of the Americas. And I further mentioned that, as the Pro Tempore Secretariat, we in Colombia had received some comments and suggestions with regard to the management of this and one of the ideas was that the venue for the next Conference might be in a more developed nation or more space-faring nation and one of the colleagues had even put forth the idea of proposing Canada as one option for a venue. Of course, I abuse the situation just a bit in suggesting this but I think that in the preparing of the Fourth Space Conference, Canada played a very important role. They were very present in Cartagena and they were very involved in the design itself, the design stage. We had a feeling, an impression, very informally, of course, that at the end, if this yields concrete results, Canada would be welcome as a venue, at least as far as we are concerned, but, of course, they would need to respond. In the meantime, the Pro Tempore Secretariat needs to find a mechanism for putting all this in place. Thank you.

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The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you. You never abuse but rather magnificently use the microphone.

I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Canada who had asked for it I believe. Yes?

Ms. M. LAROCQUE (Canada): Thank you Mr. Chairman. Yes, I would like to thank the distinguished delegate of Colombia for the suggestion of hosting it in Canada. I am not in a position today to pronounce myself on that topic but it is something that is under review within the Canadian Government so hopefully maybe by February of next year, we might have an indication but it is too early at this point to officially announce this. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you to the distinguished representative of Canada who furthermore speaks Spanish very well so she could even make contributions in my language.

Other issues that we touched upon which I judge as very important is the transcendental mistake being made by some delegations with regard to UNISPACE. It was not a rhetorical conference. It was not a conference just to speak of things that the ignorant, and let me speak clearly here, I apologize, the ignorant view as esoteric. The Action Teams are geared to solving practical problems, concrete problems for our various countries and societies which have some very important needs. Now I do not know if anybody wishes to reflect or comment on the issue of the Action Teams. I, for my part, would like to say that most delegations in the context of, I think, a very successful conference, UNISPACE III, most delegations referred to the fact that this conference took place almost for the first time in such a way as to involve a commitment of the international community. That commitment is to adapt or bring technology to meet the needs of those countries that most need it. So I think that is a very important issue to underscore with regard to the Action Teams as well.

I would also like to refer to a proposal that I put on the table this morning, as the Chair. I do not think we can continue in a situation which is a sort of a parallel situation where, on the one hand we discuss a pre-established agenda in a sort of pre-established way according to the General Assembly’s resolutions and then within some Committees or Subcommittees, you have a persistence of representatives of the different space agencies. I think it is good to think that the representatives of the space agencies, at least once a

year, might meet in a parallel way or have some sessions in parallel to what we are doing here. I am not sure what the format should be but basically there should be some sort of roundtable or working group to provide an opportunity for all of these agencies to come together and this would then provide input to the political and diplomatic discussions which take place in our meetings. And, furthermore, it would give us input to provide concrete content to our own agenda and this is a proposal that I would ask all of you to comment on as constructively as possible, if you would. And in that way, I would also like to provide a means of participation for those countries, I think, for example, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Syria and I am now just trying to recall statements, or Japan with its restructuring of its Space Agency which now has a new name. There are many countries who have been articulating and structuring a bureaucracy in the good sense of the word that makes it possible to channel international cooperation. But if these agencies are working within the context of each country and remains only as an item in a statement, a national statement, then it sort of comes to a dead end and we have much less of an impact in what we are doing and this is why I have put forth this proposal from the Chair.

I do not know if at this stage of the game, we have about 10 or 15 minutes left, if any delegation would like to comment on that proposal.

The distinguished observer for the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. You have the floor.

Mr. J. C. TRINDER (International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing): Mr. Chairman, I would just like to point out that there is a committee of space agencies now. It is called the Committee of Earth Observation Satellites, CEOS, which coordinates the activities between the space agencies and perhaps there should be an opportunity for COPUOS to cooperate or communicate with CEOS on the issues that you are referring to.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Thank you very much for your contribution. I think it should be represented. I am not in any doubt about that. But I think that that is a body which is basically geared to remote sensing observation of the Earth. But here what I am referring to is the multi-faceted nature of the very many space agencies or agencies working in this sphere. This is a sort of very general proposal that we need to refine and actually think more specifically of what are the different bodies and entities that might want to participate and do act in

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this sphere of action and knowledge. Undoubtedly, that is one of them. And I would like to thank you for recalling it to me but I think it only covers one aspect of what we want to look at as a whole, for example, the European Space Agency or CNES in France, NASA. In the developing countries, CONAE in Argentina, the Chilean Commission of Space in Chile. In Ecuador I think they are creating or have an Agency for Space Affairs, or Colombia, Syria. A number of countries have agencies which are active in this area. And as I have rather, in a very disorganized manner, observed and made remarks with regard to the different issues put on the table so far, I would also now like to urge the countries from Western Europe, I would like to ask these countries to communicate as soon as possible who their candidate would be for the Legal Subcommittee. We cannot wait until the end of the meeting to regularize a situation which, in our judgement, is vital. And here I am referring to the 2004-2006 session, the candidate for that session. So I would ask then would any delegation like to take the floor on this matter? Any light at the end of tunnel? Any indications what might happen? Any indication from a developed country? Nothing.

Yes, the distinguished representative of Germany. In fact, I welcome you with joy. I await with abated breath to hear his statement. You have the floor Sir.

Mr. K.-U. MUELLER (Germany): Mr. Chairman, the discussions in the Western European and Others Group are still ongoing.

The CHAIRMAN (interpretation from Spanish): Are they continuing constructively? Thank you.

Moreover, I think it was very important and extremely imaginative the statement on behalf of Austria made by Ambassador Lichem. Imaginative in that he touched upon one of the key problems, crucial issues which need to be grappled with by the international community and which is ideological almost in nature and which goes beyond that as well which is the issue of water what they call the blue revolution. We have already had the green revolution with a lot of controversy around it with regard to the environment but if we do not have the blue revolution soon, it seems like a large part of the planet will not have drinking water or will not have access, not even have access to potable water. And I think that planet Earth is some 70 per cent water, is that right? I am lawyer so I do not know about these figures but generally speaking, you get the picture and I think that this is a very key issue that we must look at in this

Committee, not as a rhetorical matter, but a very practical matter. I think we should pay very careful attention to what Ambassador Lichem said in this regard.

I would also like to refer to the statement made by the distinguished representative of the Republic of China on the very important space agency in China they put together with a number of the other Asian-Pacific countries working with the People’s Republic of China. And much like the South American region, they have been working together which is truly a commendable work in the area of regional cooperation which is important scientifically, technically and politically for a number of countries. Very often countries are forced to resort to one source or one supply for science and technology and here I am referring to the exact words of the Ambassador of Colombia in referring to space and science technology.

So here we should commend also not only the bureaucratic effort but the general restructuring effort of Japan of their internal legislation to create a more sound and more robust legislative framework so that now they will have a space agency, if I understood correctly through the interpretation, will be looking at space and aerospace issues. Is that correct? I do not know if the Japanese delegate is in agreement with the way I have re-phrased your statement. But in any case, all of these delegates have given us food for thought, a series of ideas that we should be examining and implementing. For example, if we look at the progressive development of international space law, some believe that current space law is sufficient. That is not something that we ask during the Legal Subcommittee meetings so we reach, having discussed the conclusion that not only are they insufficient, but for some countries they are truly insufficient and do not meet the needs of said developing countries. So again, this is a pending issue for all of us.

Honestly I must say that in trying to stimulate you, not force you, but simply remind you that this is called an exchange of views and everyday I am proposing to stop the normal meeting, 10 to 15 minutes before the end of the session, so that working all together with you in as democratic a manner as possible, we can work together, that is you, the Chair and the Secretariat to establish the foundation of a report which will reflect all of our points of view which will be based on consensus as much as possible but which will also reflect the essential elements of the main thrust of space. We have a number of issues on the table, space and society, UNIDROIT, UNISPACE III recommendations. In short, we have heard a number of very interesting ideas articulated with regard

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to these subjects and I would hope to have, on your part, greater participation and more orientation to help the Chair guide the discussions. We need to know what your desires are. How do you want to see this Committee moving in the future? Diplomatically speaking, politically speaking or scientifically speaking? We have a cross-section here of issues where we can identify a common ground with regard to the use or appropriate use of space technology and applications.

I think the time has come to end the session. I am sorry that there were not more requests for the floor, there was not more participation with regard to what we have heard thus far but in any case we will be continuing tomorrow.

Before ending, I would like to announce tomorrow morning’s work plan. Tomorrow morning, we will continue with item 5, General Exchange of Views, and we will begin item 6, Ways and Means of Maintaining Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes.

I would like to remind delegates that I intend to conclude this item and move on to item 7 as well, UNISPACE III.

At the end of tomorrow’s morning session, there will be two special presentations under agenda item 7, Mr. Angelo Iasiello of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics of the United States will make a presentation on “The Role and Benefits of Professional Societies in Creating and Supporting Local Aerospace Capabilities”. We will also hear from Mr. Alonso Lefno of Chile who is the Executive Director of FIDAE, the International Expo on Air and Space, who will make a presentation on FIDAE 2004 and Space.

Are there any comments or questions with regard to the proposed schedule?

I see none. So this meeting is adjourned until 10.00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

The meeting closed at 5.55 p.m.