Statement by the representative of the Russian Federation to the First Committee of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly Vladimir Yermakov in the First Committee on “Outer space (disarmament aspects)” cluster
Mr. Chairman,
Prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS) is one of the most important objectives in the area of arms control that requires urgent solution.
Only through legally binding agreements an effective and reliable barrier against the arms race in outer space can be established. Therefore, we continue to work hard with an aim at launching negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament (CD) to elaborate a relevant multilateral legally binding instrument. The Russia-China draft treaty on the prevention of placement of weapons in outer space and the use or threat of force against space objects (PPWT) provides a solid basis for such negotiations. We call on our Western partners to stop being insincere. The proposed PPWT draft contains everything necessary including the definition of a weapon in outer space and the means to prevent any hostile actions against any objects in outer space. What is still lacking is the willingness of our Western partners to work on PAROS with all UN Member States.
Until the situation at the CD has not changed for the better it is necessary to carry out in-depth work on PAROS and PPWT within the UN Group of Governmental Experts. To this end Russia together with our Chinese colleagues and with wide co-sponsorship of the countries that share our views has tabled a relevant draft resolution (L.54) for consideration at the current UN GA session. The objective of our initiative is to carry out a thorough work on PAROS and PPWT. We call on all UN member states to support this important initiative.
Up to date the only effective measure on PAROS is the international initiative/political commitment on no-first-placement of weapons in outer space (NFP), which enjoys the growing support of the international community. The group of the full-fledged NFP participants is continuously expanding. Today it comprises already 17 states. We welcome the decision taken by Vietnam last June to join the NFP.
The NFP initiative is gradually turning into the most effective restraining factor against the placement of weapons in outer space. There is no doubt whatsoever that if the NFP commitment is taken by all States, primarily by space-faring nations, the political objective of PAROS will be accomplished. The NFP commitment is the ultimate measure of confidence and mutual transparency among States. The NFP is ensured by a firm national position of interested States on preserving the outer space free from weapons of any kind.
We fully associate ourselves with the statement by Belarus on behalf of the CSTO Member States in support of the NFP initiative. We are prepared together with all interested States to continue the work on globalizing the NFP initiative on the basis of the relevant UNGA resolution (L.53) that we have tabled again this year in co-sponsorship with a large group of like-minded states.
Implementation of the UN GGE recommendations on transparency and confidence building measures in outer space (TCBMs) also remains an important element of our efforts in the framework of PAROS.
In particular, we continue to consider the TCBMs in close relationship with the PPWT draft. We are convinced that agreed TCBMs could become an intermediate measure on the way towards establishing an effective regime of control over implementation of the treaty. Moreover, certain TCBMs after their approbation through international practice could become integral elements of the verification mechanism for future PPWT.
Secondly, a significant work on TCBMs is being conducted in the COPUOS in the framework of the process of elaboration of the set of guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of outer space activities and safety of space operations. A number of those guidelines have been successfully transformed into regulatory provisions aimed at effectively contributing to the goal of ensuring safety of space operations.
We also expect that the First Committee will pay due attention to the Russia-China-US initiative to include the topic of TCBMs for PAROS in the 2018 UNDC agenda.
We call on all States to support the traditional UNGA resolution on TCBMs (L.46), which, as in previous years, Russia with the two other initial co-sponsors – China and the United States – has jointly submitted for consideration by the UNGA First Committee. We expect that it will be adopted without vote.
