The UN contribution to the prevention of an arms race in outer space

https://www.doi.org/10.32523/2791-0954-2023-7-3-25-37

Abstract

When mankind gained access to the use of outer space in practice, it was decided that its international legal regime would be based on such principles as freedom of exploration and use of space, freedom for scientific research, prohibition of discrimination and a number of other principles enshrined in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. One of the most important principles was the prohibition of launching into orbit around the Earth and placing in space any objects with nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction Moreover, from the very beginning outer space was used not only for civilian purposes and interests, but also for military purposes. These peculiarities have led to the specificity of international legal regulation of the use of outer space for peaceful purposes and in terms of disarmament issues. While in the first area there are a number of international agreements and international law-making is carried out within the framework of the UN COPUOS, in the second area there are no binding international instruments today, including due to problems in the Conference on Disarmament, the only permanent international multilateral negotiating forum for the elaboration of disarmament agreements. The UN Disarmament Commission and the UN General Assembly in general, for their part, develop only documents of a recommendatory nature.