Global Space Governance –The Role of Capacity-building inSpace Law and Policy
The 10th Symposium on Space Law, Keio University,Tokyo, Japan, 25 February 2019
Niklas Hedman,Chief CPLA, UNOOSAUNOOSA

UNOOSA• Substantive Secretariat of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Spaceand its Scientific & Technical Subcommittee and Legal Subcommittee• Coordinates the inter-agency coordination within the United Nations on the useof space technology (UN-Space)• Maintains coordination and cooperation with space agencies andintergovernmental and non-governmental organizations involved in spacerelated activities• Implements the United Nations Programme on Space Applications• Implements the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for
Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) programme• Discharges the responsibilities of the SG under the treaties and principles onouter space, including Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space• Secretariat of ICG and SMPAG• capacity-building in space law and policy

COPUOS92 States members of COPUOS
AG: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya,Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia
APG: Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon,Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, SriLanka, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam

EG: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland,Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Ukraine
GRULAC: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador,Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
WEOG: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, (Turkey), United Kingdom, (United States)

COPUOS mandates
1959: UN General Assembly resolution 1472 (XIV)
reaffirmed the role of COPUOS and mandated theCommittee to:• Review international co-operation• Study space-related activities that could be undertaken underUnited Nations auspices• Encourage and assist with national space research programmes• Study legal problems which may arise from the exploration ofouter spaceCurrent issues - COPUOS agenda:
Space andclimate changeSpace Debris

Space Law
Space Policy

Near-Earthobjects

DisasterManagement

Long-term
sustainability ofouter space
activities

GlobalNavigation
SatelliteSystems

Space andWater

UNISPACE+50

SpaceWeather

Space Securityand TCBMs

Space andGlobal HealthNew items on the LSC agenda▪General exchange of views on the legal aspectsof space traffic management (2016)▪General exchange of views on the application ofinternational law to small satellite activities (2016)▪General exchange of views on potential legal
models for activities in exploration, exploitation
and utilization of space resources (2017)

Space Law and Policy
Consideration at National Level

National policy and regulatory frameworks
National perspectives (space economy, space society, space
accessibility, space diplomacy); national security;
Integration of a wider range of national activities; overarching
coordination;
To fulfil obligations under treaties to which a State has become aparty;
To achieve consistency and predictability in the conduct of space
activities under the jurisdiction of the State;
To provide a practical regulatory system for non-governmental andprivate sector involvement;
Basis for regional and international cooperation, etc.

International mechanisms for cooperation
Multilateral agreements, bilateral agreements, regional
mechanisms:
Government-to-Government framework agreements;
Agency-to-Agency memorandums of understanding;
Implementing arrangements;
Coordination mechanisms: IADC, Charter on Space and Major
disasters, ISEF, GEO, CEOS, ICG, SMPAG etc;
Regional space organizations and mechanisms: ESA, APSCO, APRSAF,
AU and ALC, SCA, etc;
COPUOS, UNOOSA, UN system entities…

UNOOSA RoleUNOOSA and the discharging the Secretary-General’streaty obligations• Maintaining the Register of Objects Launched into OuterSpace (Convention on Registration of Objects Launched
into Outer Space art. III)• Disseminating information relating to outer space activities(including discovery of harmful phenomena) provided byStates (Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities ofStates in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including
the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies art. V and art. XI)• Disseminating information relating to the recovery of“foreign” astronauts in distress and/or space objects byStates within their territory and their return (Agreement on
the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and theReturn of Objects Launched into Outer Space art. II b)• Disseminating information relating to lunar exploration andhabitation (Agreement Governing the Activities of States on
the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies art. IX)

Image credit: ESA

Online Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space•••••••Web-based treaty monitoring/verification tool developed by UNOOSA in 2001 allowing
States to identify whether a space objects has been registered and who is the State ofregistry.
Fusion of official and unofficial data. Includes all registered and unregisteredsatellites/probes/spacecraft/space station flight elements from 1957 to present.
Functional space objects only. Space debris and non-functional objects are not included.
Each space object record contains (when available) information from the State of registry:• Initial registration document (Article IV, para. 1)• Documents containing additional information (Article IV, para.2)• Document containing date of decay/re-entry/deorbit (Article IV, para.3)
Links to documents by other States containing information related to the space object arealso provided (i.e. mentioned in a State providing launch services)
Links to documents provided by States under other treaties and principles (Outer SpaceTreaty, Rescue Agreement, NPS Principles)
Search could be performed using different parameters (name, international designator,launching State, date of launch, orbital status, etc.)
http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/osoindex/index.jspx

UNOOSA organized capacity-building activities in space
law and policy
Series of UN workshops on space law: Netherlands (2002); Republic of Korea(2003);
Brazil (2004); Nigeria (2005); Ukraine (2006); Iran (2009); Thailand (2010); Argentina(2012); China (2014); UNOV Vienna (2016).
New series of UN conference on space law and policy: Russian Federation (2018);
planned with Turkey (2019)• Promote awareness of legal and policy aspects• Draw attention of authorities and decision-makers to topical issues• Promote implementation of the legal regime of outer space• Enhance capacity-building efforts

UN curriculum on space law
Module 1: Basic concepts of international law and space law

Module 2: International law and other regulations applicable to remote sensing andgeographic information systems; satellite meteorology and global climate
Module 3: International law and other regulations applicable to satellitecommunications
Module 4: International law and other regulations applicable to space andatmospheric sciences
Module 5: International law and other regulations applicable to global navigation
satellite systems

New UNOOSA project:Space law and policy for new space actors: Fostering
responsible national space activities• 3-4 year project in different stages for targeted and tailored capacity-building andadvisory services aimed for regulatory authorities of emerging space nations• Assess needs of requesting States on technical legal assistance, taking into
account judicial, administrative and technical requirements• Raise awareness of the fundamental principles of international space law, andhow those apply to operational space activities• Work with space law and policy expertise around the world

UNISPACE+50

Transforming our world: 2030 Agenda For Sustainable
Development

SDGs: the relevance of space technology

DirectIndirect

UNISPACE+50 cross-cutting areas
UNISPACE+50 thematic priorities based on the following cross-cutting areas, where COPOUShas made its major contributions (A/AC.105/1137):▪ Space governance (UN treaties and principles on outer space, COPUOS guidelines
GA resolutions on outer space)▪ Capacity-building (in the use of space science and technology and theirapplications for the benefit of all countries)▪ Resiliency (disaster risk reduction, near-Earth objects, space weather )▪ Interoperability (including work done by the International Committee on Global
Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG) and other current and new coordination
mechanisms, such as IAWN, SMPAG)▪ Space for sustainable development (efforts by the Committee and its member States
as well as UNOOSA to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development)

UNISPACE+50 thematic priorities
7 thematic priorities with mechanisms agreed by COPUOS:
1. Global partnership in space exploration and innovation - Action Team with MS
2. Legal regime of outer space and global space governance: current and future
perspectives - LSC WG on Treaties in coordination with WG on LTS
3. Enhanced information exchange on space objects and events – Mechanism TBD
4. International framework for space weather services - STSC EG on Space Weather
5. Strengthened space cooperation for global health - STSC EG on Space and Global
Health
6. International cooperation towards low-emission and resilient societies - UNOOSA
7. Capacity-building for the 21st Century - UNOOSATP2 “Legal regime of outer space and global
governance: current and future perspectives”•Complex set of objectives identified by COPUOS in 2016, including on assessing
the state of affairs of the legal regime of outer space; identification of possible
gaps; progressive development of international space law etc.

•LSC WG on Status of treaties in 2017 agreed to a multi-year working method
2017-2020 on the basis of 3 “clusters” (cluster 1: questionnaire of the WG as basis
for analysing the effectiveness of the legal regime of outer space, and addressing
the status and scope of, and assessing and, as appropriate, addressing possible
gaps in, the legal regime of outer space; cluster 2: enhanced information exchange
on space objects and event (TP3 and LTS): and cluster 3: promoting theuniversality of the five UN treaties on outer space, including by identifying
approaches and possible criteria for developing a guidance document, as well aspromoting the increase in membership of COPUOS. Progress and outcome of past
WGs to be observed (launching State, registration practice, national legislation,international mechanisms). See A/AC.105/1122, annex I, paras. 6-8, andappendix I.

UNISPACE+50 process
Governance
Capacity-building
Resiliency
Interoperability
Space for sustainabledevelopment

UNISPA
C
E+50

Space
Accessibility

Thematic
Priorities

SpaceDiplomacy

SpaceEconomy
SpaceSociety

PartnershipTP6: International cooperation towards lowemission and resilient societies
Disaster risk reduction - Mitigation and adaptation to climatechange - Linkages to sustainable development and resiliency of
space based systems• Focus: building resilient societies and aligning efforts of the Office tocontribute to the Sendai Framework through UN-SPIDER programme
as well as to the adaptation efforts of the Paris agreement on climatechange and towards the attainment of the SDGs
• The strategy, in a form of a report under this TP will be available forthe 2018 cycle of the sessions of the Committee and its
Subcommittees.
• Another flagship event: UN/Germany International Conference on
International cooperation towards low-emission and resilient
societies, to be held in Bonn, Germany, from 22 to 24 November
2017.